Sugar Syrup Comb vs Honey comb

Bheckel169 · May 20, 2012, 08:24:58 PM

This is my second year of beekeeping. I had to feed sugar syrup in the early spring and decided to harvest
one comb from the middle that was pretty full. It produced two large jars but I noticed that the honey, though
very tasty, was not as honey like. I guess the best way to describe it was a little less firm and not quite runny.
Nice dark characteristics but I'm wondering if I pulled a comb that was maybe the sugar syrup I was providing
them. How do I distinquish the difference?

AllenF · May 20, 2012, 08:30:18 PM

If you feed your bees, you will have syrup, not honey. You never feed with your honey supers on. There is no need to feed them then. You honey is not mixed with syrup.

Bheckel169 · May 20, 2012, 11:03:11 PM

Allen,

My apologies but I did not mention that I use a top bar hive, not a Langstroth hive. So, what I have are 24 top bars and one of those
I pulled because the hive was growing fast and I wanted to try the honey. If you're not familiar with top bar hives then this won't
make much sense. Thanks for your reply.

Kathyp · May 20, 2012, 11:05:36 PM

my thinking would be that anything filled and capped when i was feeding, is syrup. if you don't know, it's syrup. maybe mark the frames/bars so that you know which were filled while you fed and which they filled later?

hankdog1 · May 21, 2012, 01:05:37 AM

One good way to be sure in the future with top bar hives is to just feed honey. Do not go buy the stuff in the store to feed with though as you don't know where it came from and is a
good way to spread AFB.

Finski · May 21, 2012, 01:47:28 AM

.
Feed sugar and sell honey.
In summer bees need not feeding.

Michael Bush · May 21, 2012, 02:05:54 AM

>Feed sugar and sell honey.

There is a lot of that going on... ;)

Jim134 · May 21, 2012, 06:19:06 AM

Quote from: Michael Bush on May 21, 2012, 02:05:54 AM
>Feed sugar and sell honey.

There is a lot of that going on... ;)

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BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)