feeding

[JRS]

Will feeding to much syrup cause disentery?

[Michael Bush]

>Will feeding to much syrup cause disentery?

No.  Feeding syrup does not cause dysentery.

[Understudy]

Hi Michael,

That is interesting. I have heard the opposite. Does it matter what level you mix it at ? 1:1 2:1 etc.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

[Michael Bush]

>That is interesting. I have heard the opposite.

Solids cause Dysentery.  Sugar is as free of that as it gets.

> Does it matter what level you mix it at ? 1:1 2:1 etc.

It's till just sucrose and water and not much else.  It's the "else" that causes dysentery.

[Zoot]

I don't remember all the specifics but years ago when I had the good fortune to briefly be a student of George Imire, he cautioned us about the dangers of feeding syrup in a poorly ventilated hive in the colder months; he claimed it could contribute to an overly moist environment which can then lead to a host of evils (dysentary, nosema, etc).

[Apis629]

The biggest danger of moisture in the cool months would be it condensing and chilling a cluster, if it's cold enough.  I don't know about the dysentary.

[Michael Bush]

Nosema is a different thing from Dysentery.  It just happens to have the same symptoms.  In a climate where you have problems with Nosema, I can't say if syrup would contribute.  I don't live in one of those climates.

[Brian D. Bray]

George Irmie was correct.  Leaving a feeder on does several things in cold weather--all bad IMO.  More space to keep warm, a source of extra moisture within the hive, a possible block of ice within the hive, and a barrier (in the case of a hive top feeder) to proper ventilation that keeps too much moisture in the hive.

[BEE C]

from what I understood, fall feeding should be accomplished as quick as possible because it is stressful for the bees.  Leaving it in the hive would cause moisture and any sugar syrup that is older than a few days can start to have high yeast counts which will give them the runs.

[jfischer]

Its March, and you are in Louisiana.
Feed away!
There's no downside for your current situation at all,
except for the growth of the hive forcing a "split or swarm" situation.

When do your spring blooms start?
You don't want to be feeding too near the bloom dates,
for obvious reasons.