# Can I feed this to my bees?



## Tom G. Laury (May 24, 2008)

No problemo.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

English Tom, por favor.


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## Peaches (Jun 8, 2011)

I fed some peppermint candy mixed with water and the bees liked it so much, they put it up and capped it. I extracted and bottled. Sold like hotcakes. I labeled the six oz bear, "Peppermint Candy Honey". I did not say 'pure honey'. I had 60 bottles and went to a harvest festival and sold out within six hours. Of course, I took some other pure honey too.


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## Kazzandra (Jul 7, 2010)

I had wondered about this. I know there a lot of 'pure honey only' people, but I had thought about doing something similar with essential oils by feeding them a very weak syrup with the oils in it to pack away with a super. I've already had some of it on burr comb-- delicious peppermint honey!

Now, this winter, when all of those candy canes go on sale for ninety percent off, I will be buying my bee feed for the next year.


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## mrspock (Feb 1, 2010)

Peaches said:


> I fed some peppermint candy mixed with water ... and sold out within six hours. Of course, I took some other pure honey too.


That's both insane and brilliant, and I'm jealous I didnt' think of it first.


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## TonyGotaTruck (Jan 29, 2011)

Thanks for the replies,

I have tons and access to more... My new hives are weak and feeding sugar water has helped get them going..

Thanks


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## ccar2000 (Aug 9, 2009)

What about laying the whole candy canes directly on top of the frames? Would that work like a candy board? or how about crushing them up and feeding?


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## TonyGotaTruck (Jan 29, 2011)

I will experiment and see what they take the best.. Whole, crushed or watered down like syurp.


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## waynesgarden (Jan 3, 2009)

You're essentially feeding them sugar as a means to carry them to the next flow. But if you bottle and sell it, my opinion is you are selling syrup that may contain honey, not honey. State laws vary on the subject but you may be required to label it as "Imitation Honey" and don't even think about putting "Imitation" in teeny letters over a big, bold "Honey."

As for calling it Peppermint Honey, that tells me it is honey made from nectar that came primarily from peppermint plants, just as clover honey, blueberry honey, etc is made from nectar of their respective plants. It does not tell me that the flavor is from syrup containing essential oils or candy canes.

Sorry to pee on anyone's parade but better me than some state Dept. Of Ag. offficial patrolling a farmer's market. Just a heads-up.

Wayne


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## Peaches (Jun 8, 2011)

Wayne,

If you reread what I wrote, you would see I said Peppermint Candy Honey. Nothing said about just peppermint. Next, I live in Florida and the State has said that if a bee collects it and brings it to the hive and caps it, it is honey. I take that to mean that if I feed it directly to the hive, then it is just maintenance feed. But if I set it out so they have to find it, then it can be classified as honey. But since the candy is man-made instead of nature-made, then it cannot be classified as Pure Honey. Therefore I did not put on the label Pure Honey. Just Peppermint Candy Honey. Yes, I know that you will say the same thing about Corn Syrup, so there is still a fine line here. Let you conscience be your guide.


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## Peaches (Jun 8, 2011)

Just remember, if you do this, you cannot use the extracted comb for pure honey collection. You have to pull all the Peppermint candy combs (frames) and save them for next Winter feedings.


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## Kazzandra (Jul 7, 2010)

ccar2000 said:


> What about laying the whole candy canes directly on top of the frames? Would that work like a candy board? or how about crushing them up and feeding?


Yes, wouldn't that be a great way to feed in winter without breaking cluster? Someone with experience with that will have to answer.


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## Peaches (Jun 8, 2011)

Think for a minute. You and I can eat candy cane because of our teeth. Bees don't have that option, so they have to somehow melt the candy so they can suck it into their honey stomachs. They have to have water to melt the candy.

Crushed candy is still dry so the same principal is involved. If you powder the candy, can you get it fine enough so it will not cut the bees stomachs?

This is why I put the candy in a water solution so it will melt the candy to a liquid form.

A candy board is for fondant. That is a very soft candy that is not hard and takes very little liquid to melt it. That is all the explanation I can think of at this time.


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## Mbeck (Apr 27, 2011)

I think your on to something...

What do I call my honey if I feed my bees scotch and drambuie?
How about I feed peach schnapps during orange blossom flow?


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## waynesgarden (Jan 3, 2009)

Peaches said:


> Wayne,
> 
> .....I live in Florida and the State has said that if a bee collects it and brings it to the hive and caps it, it is honey. I take that to mean that if I feed it directly to the hive, then it is just maintenance feed. But if I set it out so they have to find it, then it can be classified as honey.
> ....Let you conscience be your guide.


Interesting. I could set about 500 or a 1000 hives around a tanker of HFCS drizzling into a series of interconnected wide shallow pans and forget about ever moving to nectar sources, dearths, or any of those other problems that most accept as part of making honey.

Unfortunately for anyone thinking of making millions based on that interpretation of the rule, the actual definition of honey is just a bit different in that it includes that pesky word "nectar." Here's a link to the actual rule:Rule: 5K-4.027 (click on the top selection, which is a word doc of the final, approved rule.)

Excerpt: 

5K-4.027 Standard of Identity – Honey.
(1) This standard applies to all honey produced by honey bees from nectar and covers all styles of honey presentation that are processed and ultimately intended for direct consumption and to all honey packed, processed or intended for sale in bulk containers as honey, that may be repacked for retail sale or for sale or use as an ingredient in other foods.
(2) “Honey” means the natural food product resulting from the harvest of nectar by honeybees and the natural activities of the honeybees in processing nectar. It consists essentially of different sugars, predominantly fructose and glucose as well as other substances such as organic acids, enzymes and solid particles derived from honey collection.

I don't imagine that your state (or any state for that matter) considers sugar syrup that the bees bring into the hive to be "nectar" since every definition I've ever seen involves secretions from plants.

I'll let you look up the labeling laws for honey in your state if you are interested. 

Let you conscience be your guide

Wayne


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## waynesgarden (Jan 3, 2009)

Peaches said:


> Wayne,
> 
> .....I live in Florida and the State has said that if a bee collects it and brings it to the hive and caps it, it is honey. I take that to mean that if I feed it directly to the hive, then it is just maintenance feed. But if I set it out so they have to find it, then it can be classified as honey.
> ....Let you conscience be your guide.


Interesting. I could set about 500 or a 1000 hives around a tanker of HFCS drizzling into a series of interconnected wide shallow pans and forget about ever moving to nectar sources, dearths, or any of those other problems that most accept as part of making honey.

Unfortunately for anyone thinking of making millions based on that interpretation of the rule, the actual definition of honey is just a bit different in that it includes that pesky word "nectar." Here's a link to the actual rule:Rule: 5K-4.027 (click on the top selection, which is a word doc of the final, approved rule.)

Excerpt: 

5K-4.027 Standard of Identity – Honey.
(1) This standard applies to all honey produced by honey bees from nectar and covers all styles of honey presentation that are processed and ultimately intended for direct consumption and to all honey packed, processed or intended for sale in bulk containers as honey, that may be repacked for retail sale or for sale or use as an ingredient in other foods.
(2) “Honey” means the natural food product resulting from the harvest of nectar by honeybees and the natural activities of the honeybees in processing nectar. It consists essentially of different sugars, predominantly fructose and glucose as well as other substances such as organic acids, enzymes and solid particles derived from honey collection.

I don't imagine that your state (or any state for that matter) considers sugar syrup that the bees bring into the hive to be "nectar" since every definition I've ever seen involves secretions from plants.

I'll let you look up the labeling laws for honey in your state if you are interested. 

Let your conscience be your guide

Wayne


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## TonyGotaTruck (Jan 29, 2011)

All I am trying to do is feed my bees. I,m not trying to create some special honey...Since I feed them sugar water do I have to add that to my label?


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## waynesgarden (Jan 3, 2009)

No, assuming you are not letting the bees fill up supers that you then extract. If you are, then it is not honey that you are bottling.

Wayne


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## TonyGotaTruck (Jan 29, 2011)

Never extracted honey. I am letting the bees keep it for winter feeding. I am just trying to keep starving bees alive. What would you do?


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## waynesgarden (Jan 3, 2009)

What would I do? I feed to keep starving bees alive. 

Since you mentioned a label, I thought that implied that you were going to extract honey. I guess I just don't know what your label is for. Not important. Feed as necessary.

Wayne


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## HONEYDEW (Mar 9, 2007)

Peaches said:


> Think for a minute. You and I can eat candy cane because of our teeth. Bees don't have that option, so they have to somehow melt the candy so they can suck it into their honey stomachs. They have to have water to melt the candy.
> 
> Crushed candy is still dry so the same principal is involved. If you powder the candy, can you get it fine enough so it will not cut the bees stomachs?
> 
> ...


 Our candy boards are as hard as a rock, there is plenty of moisture from a winter cluster to liquefy any sugar based product. More than once I have bought out Wally world after Christmas and fed the whole canes to my bees with very good results, all I did is crush them lightly to make more surfaces for the moisture to attack and the bees went to sleep with visions of sugar plums dancing in there heads :scratch:


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## Tom G. Laury (May 24, 2008)

Wayne the OP never mentioned a label. You thinkin of Peaches.


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## waynesgarden (Jan 3, 2009)

Actually, he did in post #18. Maybe I was just being baited, I don't know. His thread was being hijacked, I guess.

Wayne


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## Kazzandra (Jul 7, 2010)

HONEYDEW said:


> Our candy boards are as hard as a rock, there is plenty of moisture from a winter cluster to liquefy any sugar based product. More than once I have bought out Wally world after Christmas and fed the whole canes to my bees with very good results, all I did is crush them lightly to make more surfaces for the moisture to attack and the bees went to sleep with visions of sugar plums dancing in there heads :scratch:


That's good to know! Thanks so much Honeydew! I assume after you crushed them lightly you put them on your top most box's top bars?
I'm just clarifying so that I know how to do this for the winter.


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## HONEYDEW (Mar 9, 2007)

Top most top bars would be correct...


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## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

Is this not what the Chinese do and call it honey?


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

Peaches said:


> Think for a minute. You and I can eat candy cane because of our teeth. Bees don't have that option, so they have to somehow melt the candy so they can suck it into their honey stomachs. They have to have water to melt the candy.
> 
> Crushed candy is still dry so the same principal is involved. If you powder the candy, can you get it fine enough so it will not cut the bees stomachs?
> 
> ...


Actually you can feed plain old dry sugar or sugar candy right on top of the frames- it's done all the time. Works great.


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## HONEYDEW (Mar 9, 2007)

EastSideBuzz said:


> Is this not what the Chinese do and call it honey?


 If it is done for emergency feeding as was the intent of the original post then it is called good stewardship of your bees. If it is done to fill up supers to sell then it's called funny hunny, unless as stated the labeling is done correct.....


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## Peaches (Jun 8, 2011)

Deleted By Peaches


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Peaches said:


> "Peppermint Candy Honey". I did not say 'pure honey'. I had 60 bottles and went to a harvest festival and sold out within six hours. Of course, I took some other pure honey too.


Otherwise known as ADULTERATED Honey. Were I to do this w/ my 500 hives, extracted it and sold it to a packer I would be in big trouble.

Technically what you had may have passed mosts of the tests for honey, but, since you know that the source was sugar syrup and peppermint flavoring you shouldn't have sold it as "Peppermint Candy Honey", because the bees didn't forage on anything to make it, you made them take syrup to produce what they produced.

I thought about responding to this earlier today, but spent time working on my bees before getting back to this Thread.

I think we are overfeeding our bees. I understand wanting to keep them alive and wanting to get comb drawn, but when they start storing what they are being fed, it is well past time to remove the feeders.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Peaches said:


> Let you conscience be your guide.


Is Peaches your first name or last name. If you really don't see the problem here, maybe you would sign your name so we know who you are, in case of complaints.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

TonyGotaTruck said:


> What would you do?


I would feed in the spring to get comb drawn and then stop feeding. Then, in the fall, one might wish to feed again, after the last flow, so there is some more storers put by for winter food.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Peaches said:


> Deleted By Peaches


I saw on your site that varroa mites came into this country in 1990, give or take a year or two. I guess 1985 is what you would call a year or two?


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## Peaches (Jun 8, 2011)

I'll try to answer all yawl's questions here. I got Varroa Mites and Small Hive Beetles mixed up. You are correct about Varroa = 1985. I apologize for that. The Beetles = 1990 give or take.

I don't ship my honey Pure or otherwise to the packers. I sell 100 percent retail. I tell my customers what it is and it is on my labels and I have all my contact address and numbers on the same label.

If you don't live in Florida, then there would be no complaints with my Peppermint Candy Honey because it is sold here locally. All the rest of my honey is Pure Honey and you can check it all you want.

My contact information (since you asked for it) is:

Ernest K. (Peaches) Peach
7190 Princess Lane
Pensacola, FL 32526
850-206-9352 Cell
Email is classified to keep the spam down


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

I appreciate the confidence you show by including your real name and contact info.


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