Can I use Organic Sugar to feed my bees

Diane · May 18, 2009, 04:21:13 PM

Hi all, I found some Organic sugar which says it's made from Evaporated Cane Juice. It says it's a one to one replacement for white refined sugar. Can I use this to make sugar water to feed my bees? Thank you!

Bee Happy · May 18, 2009, 05:23:35 PM

I prefer organic sugar for myself - in my coffee &c.; but I've seen better qualified beekeepers than me say it may not be a good idea for the bees
I've mentioned this before) - refining sugar seems to be a fairly harmless process in itself it's actually kind of simple and neat - no use of anything I'd remotely consider too harsh a chemical (sulfur is used to treat humans for parasites and it's in eggs, and chalk - well - antacids anyone? -I'd say google 'refining sugar' just for the heck of it)
what I LIKE about organic sugar is what they leave in. - might not be good for the bees though.

Diane · May 19, 2009, 11:59:48 AM

Thanks Bee Happy, I'll stick with the refined white sugar.

HoneyBee123 · March 16, 2012, 03:40:48 PM

I just recently read that they refine the sugar with dangerous chemicals that are even believed to cause cancer. It would be great if we could use organic, non refined sugar for our bees. I have never heard about anyone doing it tho ...

Michael Bush · March 17, 2012, 02:11:36 AM

Just plain evaporated cane juice will have a lot of solids that are not good for bees. I would buy plain white sugar.

santafebeek · June 20, 2012, 09:33:51 PM

Quote from: Michael Bush on March 17, 2012, 02:11:36 AM
Just plain evaporated cane juice will have a lot of solids that are not good for bees. I would buy plain white sugar.

Can you please expand on this, Michael? What solids would be present that are not in regular sugar and that or bad for bees? I thought they were pretty much the same thing.

By the way, thanks for all your wisdom on this and other boards! Much appreciated!!

Michael Bush · June 21, 2012, 04:42:59 PM

>Can you please expand on this, Michael? What solids would be present that are not in regular sugar and that or bad for bees? I thought they were pretty much the same thing.

Refined sugar is just that, refined. It is almost pure sucrose. Dried cane juice has all the impurities that are in the sap of a sugar cane plant. It is not refined. Those solids are fine for humans, but bees are not equipped to deal with solids.

santafebeek · June 22, 2012, 10:20:54 AM

Thanks, Michael!

sid8 · October 17, 2012, 08:51:15 AM

thanks for sharing