# Making good honey



## AR Beekeeper (Sep 25, 2008)

If you feed when your surplus honey supers are on the colony you will have a mix of honey and sugar syrup in them. It is not a good thing to feed a colony continuously, feed only for a purpose and when that purpose is met, stop feeding.


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## msl (Sep 6, 2016)

bees are not like milk cows, you don't feed them and then a gland excretes honey. They gather food (syrup or nectar) dehydrate and store it. So if your feeding while you have supers on your harvesting syrup


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## Fivej (Apr 4, 2016)

If they ever develop a cow bee I am getting myself one. It would be so much simpler. J


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

DoverBob said:


> I feed my bees year round. Does that affect the quality of your honey?


With this approach, just make some syrup in your kitchen and use it yourself.
Add some honey to it for a smell, what not.
Basically, this is what you are doing.


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## DoverBob (Mar 31, 2015)

So I'm guessing when I harvest I will have a mix of syrup and honey. No way to tell if the capped supers are honey or syrup.


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## AHudd (Mar 5, 2015)

DoverBob said:


> I feed my bees year round. Does that affect the quality of your honey?


 It won't affect my honey if you feed your bees, but it will yours, even though I am in Arkansas also.



GregV said:


> With this approach, just make some syrup in your kitchen and use it yourself.
> Add some honey to it for a smell, what not.
> Basically, this is what you are doing.


You forgot the bee spit and what not. 

Alex


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## DoverBob (Mar 31, 2015)

Bee Split is a different thread.


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## AHudd (Mar 5, 2015)

Seriously though, you will have a mixture of syrup and honey which is illegal to sell unless it is properly labeled as such. It may or may not be as good as Chinese honey.

Welcome to the forum.

Alex


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## DoverBob (Mar 31, 2015)

Thanks for your insults. I don't sell the honey. I am learning and as such it is great to have people to encourage new beekeepers. If you have a need to insult people please find another individual to attack. I have never heard that feeding affects the quality of honey. If your bees cap supers during feeding how do remove that from the hive?


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## COAL REAPER (Jun 24, 2014)

DoverBob said:


> Thanks for your insults. I don't sell the honey. I am learning and as such it is great to have people to encourage new beekeepers. If you have a need to insult people please find another individual to attack. I have never heard that feeding affects the quality of honey. If your bees cap supers during feeding how do remove that from the hive?


you cant be serious.


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## BlueRidgeBees (Jul 5, 2016)

You could always put food coloring in your syrup so you can see where and how much they are storing compared to actual honey. I'd choose something very different from honey color like blue or green. It will still taste the same to them and you if you extract it but they shouldn't mix it with their natural nectar.

Also, I don't think anyone was insulting you. One referenced spit and you took it as split and the others were simply stating sugar water is not the same as honey and shouldn't be sold as honey if you ever decide to sell it in the future.


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## DoverBob (Mar 31, 2015)

Nice ideal but I again have never heard anyone doing that. Coal Reeper my comment was a little tongue and cheek. Just trying to be logical. I have a super from last year in a hive. I assume its honey from last year


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## AHudd (Mar 5, 2015)

DoverBob said:


> Thanks for your insults. I don't sell the honey. I am learning and as such it is great to have people to encourage new beekeepers. If you have a need to insult people please find another individual to attack. I have never heard that feeding affects the quality of honey. If your bees cap supers during feeding how do remove that from the hive?


I am sorry for coming off as insulting. I didn't mean it to be. Just a little light hearted ribbing. I forget how things come across when not said face to face. Thanks for the reminder.

I thought you were on board when you said "Bee Split is another thread", when I said "bee spit".

Alex


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## Fivej (Apr 4, 2016)

Bob don't worry about it I think people were just having a little fun. If it makes you feel better I made the same exact mistake my first year. For some reason I didn't think that they would cap the sugar syrup. I proudly took pictures of my very white capped frames to share with everyone I know. I stuck my hive tool in a section to sample the honey and was amazed at how clear it was and it tasted great! It wasn't until I learned from this forum that I knew I was tasting the sugar syrup I had been feeding them. So if your mistake is a stupid one then I am stupid too. J


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

AHudd said:


> You forgot the bee spit and what not.
> 
> Alex


Darn it!
Indeed, the bee spit.
I guess you end up with sugar syrup with some bee spit.
Still, don't care of this "honey".


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## AHudd (Mar 5, 2015)

GregV said:


> Darn it!
> Indeed, the bee spit.
> I guess you end up with sugar syrup with some bee spit.
> Still, don't care of this "honey".


I don't care for it either. Fortunately I live far enough away from everyone that I don't have to worry about my neighbors beekeeping practices. I wince every time I read about someone open feeding during a flow.

DoverBob, I am Not implying you are doing this.

Alex


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## thesecurityeagle (Jun 21, 2016)

DoverBob said:


> So I'm guessing when I harvest I will have a mix of syrup and honey. No way to tell if the capped supers are honey or syrup.


Tint the syrup you feed with food color like green or blue. Then you will know if you have adulterated "honey".


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## JWPalmer (May 1, 2017)

I'm finding this thread super funny. Pun intended. DB, what you did is a common mistake among new beeks. Don't take the ribbing too seriously. But here's the deal, when you put supers on you stop all feeding. Any splits should have robber screens on them as they will still need to be fed.


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## DoverBob (Mar 31, 2015)

Unfortunately I'm part of the Dumb and Dumber group. Extraction this year may not go very well.


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## JWPalmer (May 1, 2017)

If you fed them pure sugar syrup with no additives like HoneyBee Healthy, I would imagine the "funny honey" will taste just fine for your own personal use. I would not give it to friends and family because it is not pure honey. If they ask why, make up something like "because it has bee vomit in it". Most non beeks won't get the joke.


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## elmer_fud (Apr 21, 2018)

thesecurityeagle said:


> Tint the syrup you feed with food color like green or blue. Then you will know if you have adulterated "honey".


x3, this is what I have started doing. I know the green tinted frames are syrup and not worth anything (to me)


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## DoverBob (Mar 31, 2015)

While the ideal of green syrup sound good it seems if some syrup cells in a totally good honey frame would change the color of your honey.


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## msl (Sep 6, 2016)

its telling you its not a good frame of honey


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## DoverBob (Mar 31, 2015)

I do understand the concept. If I have a full capped super and there are 4 cells green in over a million in ten frames. I have no honey. Ten frames no good.


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## msl (Sep 6, 2016)

4 parts per million is unlikely a color problem
If it is, just take a hive tool and scrape it out, just like you would do with a few brood cells
The color helps you learn, the pain of having to lose a chunk of harvest helps the lesson stick.


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## DoverBob (Mar 31, 2015)

Scraping the colored cells is a good solution. Sure sounds messy. Going to have syrup all over the place. I am going to try this ideal next season. Thanks for all the responses. This year is a bust.


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## burns375 (Jul 15, 2013)

Yes, don't sell your "honey".


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## JWPalmer (May 1, 2017)

You should probably redo your math on how many cells are in ten medium frames too. 10 deep frames is about 70 thousand cells and a medium super is 2/3rds of that.

One of the youtube posters that I like, I'll call him Frank, recently posted a video of a fully drawn out and capped ten frame medium super of honey right under the feeder that he is just now taking off the hive. Beautiful frames of sugar syrup that he insisted on calling honey. Made me cringe. This how new beeks get mislead. Feeding with a super on is a great way to get those frames drawn out, but it is a terrible way to produce honey.


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## BlueRidgeBees (Jul 5, 2016)

To my knowledge, the bees won't mix the sugar water in a frame with regular honey but I could be wrong. I think I heard somewhere that they only store "like" honey together which means the green frames would all be green and not mixed in.


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## Slow Drone (Apr 19, 2014)

BlueRidgeBees said:


> To my knowledge, the bees won't mix the sugar water in a frame with regular honey but I could be wrong. I think I heard somewhere that they only store "like" honey together which means the green frames would all be green and not mixed in.


They'll put it on the same frame just not in the same cell with the honey.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

BlueRidgeBees said:


> To my knowledge, the bees won't mix the sugar water in a frame with regular honey but I could be wrong. I think I heard somewhere that they only store "like" honey together which means the green frames would all be green and not mixed in.


If true, multi-floral honey would not exist. 
I would really love this to be true.
Bees would sort all honeys for me - dark honey, light honey frame.. Golden rod is separate from asters. On and on...
You get the idea.

OK, one can say - well, they separate them cell by cell.
This would be even less efficient as now the bees will have to run about and sniff for proper cells so to spit the proper honey kind into them.
God forbid to spit into a wrong cell. 

I would think bees would hate such terribly inefficiency even more.
On the opposite, they do whatever way it is the most efficient to get the job done at any given time.
Whatever this efficiency results in - that's what you observe (not some sort of intelligent per-designed honey sorting and such).


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## iwlf (Mar 25, 2012)

DoverBob said:


> I do understand the concept. If I have a full capped super and there are 4 cells green in over a million in ten frames. I have no honey. Ten frames no good.


I'd keep those frames intact and use them when you need to feed. It's already packaged and ready for the bees! You also have 10 frames of drawn comb. Definitely not a total bust . . . just delayed resources!

I would bet that a significant number of us have done exactly the same thing, don't sweat it.


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## Hops Brewster (Jun 17, 2014)

'honey' from sugar syrup does not have the same quality as true honey from nectar. I will only use it for feeding to the bees.


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## Ode1891 (Aug 16, 2009)

DoverBob said:


> I feed my bees year round. Does that affect the quality of your honey?


Reasonable question. Nothing I say hear is meant to be gospel, its just the way I look at it. I have no opinion to argue with. I feed most hives during the startup each year, what with splits, de-congesting brood areas etc.... I do not get too concerned about nectar flow starting with feeders remaining on. My honey supers go on in March. They get cleaned out the year before by setting them out for the bees to mangle and get every last bit out of them. When I put them on the hives, the feeders pull the bees up through them and help jump start comb repair. Does that mean they start to store some of the syrup?--sure they do. What I notice in almost every hive is that when the nectar flow starts, the bees seem to ignore that syrup. I end up dumping out most of the feeders when I put spacers above the queen excluders for super entrance and exit. Some hives (few) will draw down the feeders after the flow starts but most healthy hives really do ignore it. I have no explanation for it unless the nectar flow is just that heavy--who knows?They are bugs. 

So I do not feed year round. But I am sure some syrup gets mixed in early. Here's another thing to consider. If I leave on a feeder with 12 pounds of syrup when the flow starts, even if they draw it all down, its 12 pounds of syrup mixed into 30-60 pounds of honey from each hive I extract. And that math only works if you are 100% certain where the bugs take that syrup in the hive. So I do not get too hung up on 100% purity. I'm sure some of my bees also visit picnics and suck up Pepsi and ketchup too, heaven forbid....


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## JimD (Feb 3, 2018)

I have the same problem with a new hive. The bees have gone crazy with pulling and packing the sugar honey. Not tried the taste but does it taste any worse than pure clover honey? 

I have three deeps that they are pulling and one med super. I have been trying to find the queen on several trips but she is there and lays all over. You will find a a good pattern of eggs here and then eggs 3 frames over or on the deep below. She is as bad as my wife as running around all the time but at least the queen is getting things done. 

I had put a 3rd deep on a couple of weeks ago and rearranged the frames around and the queen moved up to the top deep and is going crazy laying. I had bought two nucs and one was a dud the seller would not stand behind. The three are probably already 60% pulled. One strange thing I had was I had done three frames with Don's pure wax with fishing cord to support the was can I had NO pulling on these three frames but just some cut out areas on the edges while the black plastic was being pulled. I did replace with plastic. 

I have the gear and thinking about doing a split if I can find the queen. Looking to call B Weaver to see if they have laying queens for sale. I hate to spend a 4-6 weeks and hope a new queen will come thru from scratch this late in the year even though I have lots of larva and capped brood in all three boxes. 

Between the neighbor hood flowers and the sugar water I probably have quite a bit of Sugar honey for the deeps. The boxes are getting hard to pick up.

Thinking about extracting the medium as it now has 4-5 frames of capped honey and feeding it back to the bees and hope for some better honey for the fall in the med. The nuc box had two full frames of fall honey and I was thinking about extracting that to get some honey for me to use. I like the fall honey because it has a lot more flavor to me than the light honeys.

Suggestions (reasonable)  are welcomed. Jim


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## AHudd (Mar 5, 2015)

Ode1891 said:


> Reasonable question. Nothing I say hear is meant to be gospel, its just the way I look at it. I have no opinion to argue with. I feed most hives during the startup each year, what with splits, de-congesting brood areas etc.... I do not get too concerned about nectar flow starting with feeders remaining on. My honey supers go on in March. They get cleaned out the year before by setting them out for the bees to mangle and get every last bit out of them. When I put them on the hives, the feeders pull the bees up through them and help jump start comb repair. Does that mean they start to store some of the syrup?--sure they do. What I notice in almost every hive is that when the nectar flow starts, the bees seem to ignore that syrup. I end up dumping out most of the feeders when I put spacers above the queen excluders for super entrance and exit. Some hives (few) will draw down the feeders after the flow starts but most healthy hives really do ignore it. I have no explanation for it unless the nectar flow is just that heavy--who knows?They are bugs.
> 
> So I do not feed year round. But I am sure some syrup gets mixed in early. Here's another thing to consider. If I leave on a feeder with 12 pounds of syrup when the flow starts, even if they draw it all down, its 12 pounds of syrup mixed into 30-60 pounds of honey from each hive I extract. And that math only works if you are 100% certain where the bugs take that syrup in the hive. So I do not get too hung up on 100% purity. I'm sure some of my bees also visit picnics and suck up Pepsi and ketchup too, heaven forbid....


Beekeepers everywhere fight this perception. I hope you do not sell this "honey" unless it is labeled as adulterated. 

Of course if you don't sell it then it is none of my business.

Alex


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## GeorgeManning (Nov 3, 2015)

DoverBob said:


> Thanks for your insults. I don't sell the honey. I am learning and as such it is great to have people to encourage new beekeepers. If you have a need to insult people please find another individual to attack. I have never heard that feeding affects the quality of honey. If your bees cap supers during feeding how do remove that from the hive?


Dear DoverBob---

I appreciate your inquiry. Many beekeepers have a posture of superiority, while there are others that welcome new beekeepers and want to help; even mentor them. None of us know everything.
I am an old-time beekeeper. I certainly appreciate advice or suggestions and consider them wisely. 

Please do not stop looking for guidance when you seek it. Every time I open a hive, I remember, with love and respect, Phil Sampson of Bridgeport, Connecticut, when he arrived at the Baldwin Orchards in Westport, Connecticut where I worked thinning the sap branches before the sap started running, usually in late February or early March. On the Saturday that Phil came to tend his bees, I was waiting to speak with him. A few months prior to that day, my dad gave me a book on bees titled, THE HIVE AND THE HONEY BEE. Pouring over its pages helped me to ask questions, but Phil said, see that hive over there? Pay me $12 when you get your first harvest". That has made all the difference in my life. I assisted Phil tending his 100 hives all through high school 

That was 1951 and now in 2018, Phil is in my life and I am so very grateful to him.

One piece of advice, if that helps you, find a mentor, maybe one of us old timers. God Bless and keep on keeping on.

Regards,

George Manning
Beekeeper
Consulting Entomologist


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## Ode1891 (Aug 16, 2009)

Please educate me some more. Bees having access to how much sugar syrup for how long after the supers are on, would it take to require me to label all extracted honey adulterated ? Asked another way, if left say 5 pounds of syrup on after I installed honey supers, should I then label all the extracted honey from that hive as adulterated? Seriously? I could take 65 pounds or more and in an exactly perfect scenario, there might be 5 pounds of syrup mixed in. If I leave feeders on 2 splits out of 9 hives should I label the extracted honey from all 9 as adulterated? They do rob those start up colonies. Should I make sure no colonies close by are being adulterated with syrup just in case mine go robbing? What about the dumpsters at the convenience stores and fast food places? whew. On second thought, nevermind . Leave me in my everlasting ignorance, its been working well for a long time. I did not know beekeepers everywhere were fighting my perception for the last 15 years. I must travel in adulterated circles. 

Just in case I wake up with a new outlook and decide to change my ways, who sells these adulterated labels? I just looked in BetterBee and Brushy Mounatain and they don't have any.


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## AHudd (Mar 5, 2015)

I guess I am one of the lucky ones in that I don't live near any fast food places or convenience stores or neighbors who open feed and who do not use robber screens to prevent their fed colonies, splits or nucs from being robbed. 

If some syrup inadvertently and unknowingly gets into a hive, I doubt it would matter, but we need to strive for 0%. As for the legal acceptable thresholds, I don't know. I'm sure there are government regulations for those who wish or need to know.

You still didn't say if you sell your honey. I did state if you didn't sell it, then it is none of my business, but if I was one of your customers I would want to know.

Almost everyone asks if I feed my bees. I explain to them never hives that are going to be producing honey to sell. I can and do proudly say, "My honey is pure raw natural honey." 

The world is awash in adulterated honey. This practice keeps the price of commercial volumes of honey artificially low and it is the reason we local producers get a premium for our pure honey. The commercials don't need me to speak for them. True Source Honey shows how large the problem is, but it a problem for us all.

Follow your own conscience.

Alex


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## Ode1891 (Aug 16, 2009)

I used to be a small scale commercial guy selling through a local grocery store. Got fed up with the hassles, but mine sold out as soon as it was stocked--within a week or two and they always asked for more. We used to do more of all of it. Entered State Fair with honey and capped frames and wax products. One year we had dark honey for no particular reason and it won the blue ribbon--who knew.... Now we just keep some hives for the fun of it. 

Nobody asks about feeding the bees but some want to make sure I don't filter it--they want all natural, so of course I smile and nod politely. I dont know what all the charm is about leaving wax bits and bee wings in the honey, seems like it would cause constipation


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## AHudd (Mar 5, 2015)

These guys said it better than I seem to be able to.

https://www.beesource.com/forums/sh...f-Sugar-syrup-in-honey&highlight=feeding+flow

Alex


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## jadebees (May 9, 2013)

If you don't care, there will be just enough nectar to taint your syrup. The bees eat much more 1 to 1 mix. The heavy 2 to 1 mix will get stored up more readily. That is 1 reason for feeding thick syrup , it gets put away in the fall. In spring they do that too. As to quality, you have to stop feeding weeks before a flow, to get actual honey. Not syrup.


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## blamb61 (Apr 24, 2014)

If I put some sugar on the top bars of the top box in winter to provide some extra feed, would any of that get stored? I'm trying not to feed them any sugar with the exception of what I just described because I don't want any syrup stored. I'm managing my hives Warre style so most the "supers" are on all the time.

Couple of years ago, someone came into a large quantity of some old candy cane and did open feeding with it (illegal in Northern Utah). It cause some damage in the area ($100-$200k I believe is what I read) and dyed people's honey and bees red! Probaby tasted fine and could have been a Christmas novelty or something but it couldn't be sold as honey.


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## roberto487 (Sep 22, 2012)

every time I hear someone boasting about harvesting hundreds of pounds from a hive in a single season, I immediately think sugar syrup is the reason for their bountiful harvest. I live in a forested area with basswood, sumac, tulip and many other bee plants and the most I have harvested was 150 lbs between 6 hives. Just recently, I harvested 60 lbs from one overwintered hive that I did not harvest last year, and did not feed this past spring. This past spring, I also noticed that when there is a flow, the bees did not take the sugar syrup and I had to throw them out because they turned to vinegar.


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## AHudd (Mar 5, 2015)

Blamb61,

I don't know about Warre hives. I think there is a Warre hive section of the forum where you might get some help.

Good luck,
Alex


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## Gumpy (Mar 30, 2016)

Bees view sugar water as nectar, and will store it and cure it just as they do nectar. They will mix it all together. As others have said, use a bit of food coloring in the syrup and it will show you exactly where they are putting it. Green works well. About 4-8 drops per gallon. Last year, I stopped feeding when I put the supers on. Literally the same day. When I extracted, my honey had a slight green tinge to it. The bees had moved some of their stores up from the brood nest into the super. It obviously wasn't much because the color was so slight, and it tasted like honey. I kept it to use for myself.


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## Ode1891 (Aug 16, 2009)

roberto487 said:


> every time I hear someone boasting about harvesting hundreds of pounds from a hive in a single season, I immediately think sugar syrup is the reason for their bountiful harvest. Just recently, I harvested 60 lbs from one overwintered hive that I did not harvest last year, and did not feed this past spring. This past spring, I also noticed that when there is a flow, the bees did not take the sugar syrup and I had to throw them out because they turned to vinegar.


I feel pretty successful getting one 9 frame medium honey super from each hive, and my hives sit on a 40 acre re-forested property LOADED with great sources of nectar. On the other hand, when I was inspecting every ten days and doing everything I could to prevent swarming I sometimes had hives that just blew up in population who could bring in incredible amounts. But all that inspecting comes at the risk of killing the queen and more importantly I have lots of other things to be doing so I do what I can with the time I have. 

I too have found that during the flow in good weather, the bees ignore anything left in feeders and I too end up dumping it out. There have been years when I poured off more than they took, but I'd rather be safe than sorry I hadn't fed.


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## nana h (Jun 8, 2018)

I'm new and kind of dumb too, so please don't take this wrong. If we're that new then our hives probably are too, should we even be taking honey from a hive so young?


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## JWPalmer (May 1, 2017)

It is sometimes possible to get a fair honey harvest from a new hive. It helps if it is a nuc acquired early in the season. A June package is best left with what they collect.


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## Groundhwg (Jan 28, 2016)

AHudd said:


> Beekeepers everywhere fight this perception. I hope you do not sell this "honey" unless it is labeled as adulterated.
> 
> Of course if you don't sell it then it is none of my business.
> 
> Alex


Got another beekeeper less than 1 mile from our hives who open feeds almost all year. I would expect that my bees have visited her feeders many times and stored her sugar water in my supers. Am not able nor do I care to find some way to check to see if my honey that is sold is "pure". I sell my honey as Local Honey, eat it, sell it, share and give away honey every year. My friends, family, and customers love it and I am not worried about it.


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## DoverBob (Mar 31, 2015)

Groundhwg,
Thanks for a bit of reality I have read all the comments and while I hope to make the best honey possible. I find overall the reality is you don't know where bees get their nectar. Old coke can sugar from trash. Or left over stores from past year in brood chamber. I want to make the best honey possible so I think your statement as Local Honey would be the most accurate.


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## Groundhwg (Jan 28, 2016)

DB,
Thanks and not for the kind words but because of what you stated here (post #52) and earlier in this thread. Each beekeeper can only control his/her on hives while doing the best they can produce honey, save and raise their bees and while we might not like the way someone else is feeding, treating, or killing their bees most need to lighten up and take care of their own business. Heard my Grand Dad say many times; "You can not control every situation, but you can control yourself in any situation."


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## mischief (Jan 21, 2017)

I gotta ask....why do you feed your bees all the time?


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## f650cs (Jun 16, 2014)

The suggestion to put a bit of green food coloring in the syrup is what I was told to do as well. It is really strange to see capped honey with green in it. It really shows you where the syrup goes in the frames. It is a great way to know what frames not to extract, too.


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## DoverBob (Mar 31, 2015)

Just spent the last couple of days extracting honey from four hives. Got about 60 pounds. It is very dark. Probably because it is from last year. I am sure because I feed my bees a lot its not pure honey. Sure taste good. I will reduce my sugar water after learning from you guys. I want my bees to be healthy. I think the green food coloring is a good ideal. Just need to understand that bees can rob from trash or other human sugar products that you have no control over.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

So in this video (I have it posted under my "deep hives" thread as relevant to the chest hives)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGRkmd0fx3M

...the old keeper tells a story...

He sold a frame of sugar honey to some locals (as a practical joke!)
In a bit, he went to them to disclose the deal and took a replacement honey along.
Well, they never believed him and were just totally please with the "sweet, clear, and delicious" real honey they originally got.
The old keeper just left shaking his head.
People have no clue; all they want and care about - sugar.
That's what he told the video maker.

This is one reason I decided to finally do my own bees (again).
I don't trust anyone anymore with my food (bee products included).
Just shame.

PS: really, really hoping no open feeding is going on in my area; i would be really annoyed.


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## BeeDuto (Apr 19, 2018)

My deep honey super is very close to being full all i can think about is honey thats tinged with sugar syrup. I'm not going to sell it but definitely want to give some away. How much do you think made it into the super. I'd have to think they were eating a good deal of it and not just storing it in the super. Also, since it was only a 1:1 ratio mixture, doesn't that mean that the volume that was actually stored is a decent amount less since technically the water content would be reduced down to 15/17%. So 8 ounces of syrup would only end up being as 4.6 ounces (1 cup of 1:1 syrup = 4 ounces water, 4 ounces of sugar. Water gets reduced down to .6 ounces yielding a reduced amount to be capped of 4.6. Is that a good ball park figure? If a ten frame deep can yield 5 gallons of honey then if all 6 cups of sugar syrup i fed them was stored then my harvest would only contain about 5% sugar syrup. I guess thats not bad right and thats assuming they stored it all, used none for food. Sorry, i'm just paranoid. Luckily i added a second super (medium) and they are already drawing out comb and storing nectar. Maybe that batch will be more "pure"


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## DoverBob (Mar 31, 2015)

There have been several comments about the quality of honey. I have learned a lot. One of the things I learned is there is no exact standard for pure honey. It is legal to add corn syrup to honey and still call it pure honey. I think local honey is by far the most honest label. I am sure we all want to make the best honey possible. I will certainly reduce my feeding this coming spring. I may even use food color just for my information. I think after some research that we all over obsess about honey quality. I will continue to do the best I can but protect my hives from starving.


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## JimD (Feb 3, 2018)

I was surprised with the two gallons I got because it was a lot darker than I thought it would be. For me I did a last fall deep frame from the nuc honey and mixed a little of the other with it to have half a gallon. The honey tasted pretty good but then the two gallons did not taste bad either it did have a definite flavor.

I was surprised how dark the "sugar" honey was so I do not know what all was mixed with it but I plan to feed it back to the splits to speed up getting both hives running strong again. It tasted pretty good with what ever the bees mixed with it and there are a lot of different plants blooming in my subdivision too.


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## AHudd (Mar 5, 2015)

From the National Honey Board; After straining, it's time to bottle, label and bring it to you. It doesn't matter if the container is glass or plastic, or if the honey is purchased at the grocery store or farmers’ market. If the ingredient label says “pure honey,” nothing was added from bee to hive to bottle.

From the FDA; Reference materials in the public domain define h
oney as “a thick, sweet, syrupy 
substance that bees make as food from the *nectar* of flowers and store in honeycombs.”
2,3 
FDA has concluded that this definition accurately 
reflects the common usage of the term 
“honey.” 

Alex


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## DoverBob (Mar 31, 2015)

Alex I am so glad you responded to this thread. Thought you would. Im sure your bees are amazing and I am not upset with your attack or joking responses. I did some research also and it was stated that many honey companies add syrup and their is no checking or running test to prevent it. If you have read all the comments about bees trash dumpster diving and moving syrup in hives I think you would agree that pure is a relative term. No doubt your honey is the best. As stated earlier I will have local honey label and will never state pure honey. I hope over the years I can develop better skill and bee knowledge. Some day I may get to the point that I can like you state that I have pure honey.


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## AHudd (Mar 5, 2015)

Bob, Thank you for acknowledging my apology, but I wish you would not characterize what I said as an attack. It was a play on words. I answered your question literally. I really was kidding.

No one can control the small amounts of sugars bees inadvertently scavenge.

I posted a link previously to a thread that gives a very good summation of when and how much to feed. There is nothing wrong, in my opinion, with feeding bees under certain situations.

I hope your bees do well and you come to love this hobby as much as I do.

And then there is this to inject a little more humor; http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=56884400&itype=CMSID

Alex


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## S-2 (Mar 9, 2014)

COAL REAPER said:


> you cant be serious.


 no kidding I didn't see so much as a hint at an insult.


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