Natural Beekeeping International Forum

[tracywebb]

Has any research been done on the resilience of bees allowed to feed on their own honey opposed to those fed on syrup/sugar water and denied their stores?

I believe that bees not allowed to eat their own honey must be depleted since there is no nutritional value in the alternatives they are fed. Same with us, if we eat rubbish we suffer the consequences...

Perhaps this is a huge contributor towards the bees decline. Low immunity from the lack of proper food, resulting in an inability to fend off toxins, varroa, pesticides etc. It makes sense to me that the stronger the bee the more resilient they must be.

Would be interested to know if any research has been done on this.

Thanks

[biobee]

I know there are studies which prove the exact opposite - that bees actually live longer on sugar syrup than they do on honey...

Counter-intuitive, I know, but the fact is that honey appears to contain some substances that actually shorten bees' lives, compared to eating pure sucrose. There is probably a link to the research in the relevant section, but I'm in a bit of a rush so don't have time to look it up right now.

[tracywebb]

That has shocked me. I was sure they would thrive on their on own food better than sugar. Wow! Thanks for replying

[madasafish]

In every case, feeding honeybees frames of honey increases their chance of death. Talk about the unexpected! Let me repeat: if you feed your honeybees that which they would feed themselves, frames of honey, then you are increasing their chance of death. We don’t know the cause. But we have strong survey data speaking and we should listen.


http://tinyurl.com/mq3kvfl

[AugustC]

All results should be interpreted carefully.

For examples: The lifespan of all mammals can be prolonged using a calorie restricted diet. The individuals life will certainly be significantly longer BUT:
They will be more prone to injuries, especially bone breakages, bruising etc.
They will have a compromised immune system, leaving more likely to contract infections.
Their recovery from infections and injuries is greatly slowed.
They will also need to be considerably less active and will spend a larger portion of time resting and sleeping to cover the calorie deficit.

The colony for the most part doesn't care how long a individual lives provided it is able to return to the colony the resources it took in producing it.

[tracywebb]

Thanks AugustC, I was thinking along the line of whether they are more productive/healthy/strong/ on their own honey in the tine they are alive rather than living longer and being impaired.

Thanks

[ingo50]

There is a post on this site linking to research on the expression of certain genes depending on whether honey or sugar or corn syrup have been fed to bees. Sorry I can't remember exactly where. With differing genotypes and multiple varying expression of specific gene parts, it will be difficult to say what the individual and cumulative effects are. With the rapid advances in modern genetic testing and some good objective research I am sure this will be answered in the future. In humans there is increasing evidence linking poor diet to cancer and other chronic illnesses.

[BBC]

[tracywebb]

I wonder if anyone would do some research on the quality of the bee's productivity, resilience, performance and health on their own honey opposed to those raised on sugar/fondant/syrup...

As a nation we are living longer, however, many are living longer with poor health and impaired functioning. Longevity doesn't always equate with quality...

Thanks for all your replies been an interesting read

[imkeer]

I don't think it matters much if individual bees that eat sugar in a lab have a longer life.
What matters is what's good for the colony. So does the colony live longer? Does it have more chance of surviving? If their gut culture (specific lactic acid bacteria strains, enzymes, ...) is maintained or maybe even improved, the bees will pass this on to the young bees and thus keep the colony healthy...

Or not or what?

Luc P.
(BE)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hapicultuur/246934258717439