# Can bees eat maple syrup?



## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

No, it gives them dysentery.


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## SquareDeal (Aug 3, 2010)

Scratch that then. I suspected it was not good as maple is mostly sucrose rather than glucose. 
FYI it give children a for of dysentery when they over consume. It's hilarious to hear my 8 yo. explain this to other children @ on open house weekend (she learned the hard way).


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## beeware10 (Jul 25, 2010)

I guess thats why they are called honeybees, not maplebees.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

SquareDeal said:


> Scratch that then. I suspected it was not good as maple is mostly sucrose rather than glucose.
> FYI it give children a for of dysentery when they over consume. It's hilarious to hear my 8 yo. explain this to other children @ on open house weekend (she learned the hard way).


It's not the sucrose. It's the fact that it was calamelized by the high and prolonged heat.

I started out my agricultural career as a sugarmaker. Hung up to 5000 taps. Gathered sap with snow up to my yin yang. Feet so soaking wet and wrinkley they needed my chap stick...nope no one else wanted to use it. Ha! Well, I had to stop licking my fingers when they got covered with hot syrup 'cause I got gas so bad. Finally had to keep a bucket of hot water next to the sugar rig for washing sugar off my hands.


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## DeeAnna (Nov 5, 2010)

"...Feet ... needed my chap stick..."

Oh, um, I'm really glad to learn the chap stick wasn't needed a bit further up! 

Just funnin'. --DeeAnna


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## TWall (May 19, 2010)

Sugaring time was my favorite time of the year as a county extension agent in upstate NY. I used to have maple syrup on my oatmeal every morning, now I use something else!

Tom


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