The most important precaution when feeding bees honey is to use only honey from your own, known disease-free hives. Honey from any other source, including supermarkets or even other beekeepers, carries a significant risk of introducing devastating diseases like American Foulbrood to your colony. Furthermore, any feeding must be done inside the hive, never in the open.
Feeding honey back to bees seems like a natural act, but it is one of the riskiest things a beekeeper can do. The core issue is disease transmission—commercial honey can harbor fatal bacterial spores, and open feeding can trigger destructive "robbing" behavior that spreads infection and weakens colonies.
The Hidden Danger: Why Most Honey is Unsafe
Understanding the "why" behind this rule is critical for protecting your bees. The danger lies in the resilience of bee-specific pathogens that can survive in honey.
The Threat of American Foulbrood (AFB)
American Foulbrood is a highly contagious and fatal bacterial disease for honey bees. It is caused by spores that are incredibly resilient and can remain dormant but viable in honey for decades.
When bees consume contaminated honey, these spores activate in the gut of the bee larvae, killing them after their cell is capped. This disease can quickly destroy an entire colony.
The Myth of "Safe" Store-Bought Honey
Commercially available honey, even if labeled "raw" or "organic," is almost always a blend from numerous apiaries across different regions or countries.
There is no way to verify the health of the colonies that produced it. While pasteurization for human consumption kills some yeasts, it does not use temperatures high enough to reliably destroy hardy AFB spores, as this would ruin the quality of the honey.
The Only Safe Source: Your Own Hives
The only honey you can be certain is safe is honey you harvested yourself from hives that you have personally inspected and confirmed to be strong and free of disease.
The Second Rule: Why Feeding Location Matters
Even if you are using safe honey from your own hives, where you feed is just as important as what you feed. Never place honey in an open area outside the hive.
Preventing "Robbing Frenzies"
Bees are hardwired to seek out and collect rich sources of nectar or honey. An open feeder acts as a powerful beacon, attracting bees from every other colony in the area.
This triggers a "robbing frenzy," where bees from competing hives will try to storm your hive to steal its resources. This results in widespread fighting and the death of countless bees, placing immense stress on your colony.
The High Risk of Disease Transmission
Robbing is a primary vector for spreading disease between colonies. If a robbing bee comes from an infected hive, it can introduce pathogens like Foulbrood or mites to your otherwise healthy colony, with devastating consequences.
The Correct Method: In-Hive Feeders
All feeding should be done inside the hive, making the food source accessible only to the bees of that specific colony.
Simple and effective tools like a mason jar feeder placed over the inner cover allow your bees to access the food safely without alerting or attracting outside bees.
Understanding the Trade-offs: Is Honey the Best Choice?
While using your own clean honey is an option, many experienced beekeepers choose not to. The safest and most common practice is to feed bees sugar syrup.
The Case Against Feeding Honey
Even your own honey can potentially reintroduce low levels of pathogens that the colony had previously managed. It is never a completely zero-risk activity.
The Safer Alternative: Sugar Syrup
The standard and safest food supplement for bees is a simple syrup made from plain white table sugar and water (typically in a 1:1 ratio for spring stimulation or 2:1 for winter stores).
Sugar syrup is a sterile, clean energy source. Because it is not a bee product, it cannot contain bee-specific diseases like AFB, making it the superior choice for supplemental feeding.
When Honey Might Be Considered
Some purists argue that honey contains beneficial micronutrients absent in sugar syrup. This is a choice for highly experienced beekeepers who are absolutely certain of their honey's purity and are willing to accept the small residual risk.
Making the Right Choice for Your Colony
Your decision should be based on a clear-eyed assessment of risk versus reward to protect the long-term health of your bees.
- If your primary focus is safety and disease prevention: Always use sugar syrup for supplemental feeding. It provides the necessary carbohydrates without the risk of disease transmission.
- If you are an expert beekeeper with confirmed disease-free hives: You can consider using your own honey, but you must feed it inside the hive and acknowledge you are accepting a small but real risk.
- If you are considering using store-bought or another beekeeper's honey: Do not do it. The risk of introducing a fatal and persistent disease like American Foulbrood is simply too high.
By prioritizing disease prevention, you can provide for your bees effectively while safeguarding them from preventable harm.
Summary Table:
| Precaution | Key Reason | Safe Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Use only honey from your own disease-free hives | Prevents introduction of American Foulbrood and other diseases | Sugar syrup (sterile, disease-free) |
| Always feed inside the hive | Prevents robbing frenzies and disease transmission between colonies | Mason jar feeders or internal hive feeders |
| Avoid store-bought or other beekeepers' honey | Commercial honey may contain resilient bacterial spores | White sugar syrup (1:1 or 2:1 sugar:water ratio) |
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As a commercial beekeeper or distributor, your colony's health is your livelihood. Proper feeding is just one aspect of successful apiary management. HONESTBEE supplies commercial beekeepers and equipment distributors with durable, wholesale-focused beekeeping supplies that support disease prevention and colony health.
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