Is honey made from hummingbird feeder nectar good or does it make the honey red if it has food coloring?
The honey bees have horded all of the nectar in the hummingbird feeder. Most of the hive raided about 1 quart of nectar today. Will this affect their honey? Will manufactured nectar cause the honey to taste or turn out different from honey made strictly from flower pollen?
It’s hard to say exactly, but I think nectar manufactured for hummingbirds may be different than flower nectar (different sugar used – sucrose vs glucose), therefore, the concentrated nectar, honey, will have a different composition and so may taste different. It’s impossible to say without knowing the sugar used in the hummingbird nectar. Also, the red coloring which attracts the hummingbirds would not disappear as the water is evaporated as the honey is formed, so it will remain in the honey produced.
I’m not saying there will be anything wrong with the honey, just that it will not be EXACTLY the same as honey from flower nectar because of the different sugar used and the coloring. Niether will ‘hurt’ the honey or the bees though.
The red coloring is added because hummingbirds are mostly attracted to the color red.
Random Posts:
- How do I keep the bees off the hummingbird feeder?Hi, We have a hummingbird feeder on our slider door. And all these honey bees keep coming up and hogging the feeder. When he hummingbirds come up, the bees try to chase them away and sting them. How can we keep the bees off? Thanks! The question should’ve been “How do I keep the bees OFF the humming
- How can I make a hummingbird feeder with household items?I want to be able to create a feeder that I can feed the hummingbirds in my yard with, some of the ones that i have bought leak. Lots of good sites with info on how to do that. Remember do NOT use red food coloring, or honey in your necter mixes. http://rubyglen.com/crafts/hummingbird.htm http://www
- Can I use brown sugar in a hummingbird feeder?My wife and daughters outlawed white sugar at home. I used it mainly when preparing the liquid for a hummingbird feeder. I won’t use artificial sugar for the birds, but how is brown sugar for hummingbirds? I wouldn’t do it because molasses isn’t normally found in a humming bird’s natural diet. Brown
Comments
Comment from jim z
Time October 22, 2010 at 8:15 pm
I am sure the bees can use the sugar which is very close to what flowers produce to produce honey and it would be good. It is interesting that if you used honey in your feeder as the source of sugar, it would kill the hummingbirds. I don’t know why that is though.
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/hummingbird/msg04221517379.html
This said why. Honey rapidly ferments and becomes toxic.
References :
Comment from Michael R
Time October 22, 2010 at 8:49 pm
The "nectar" you are buying is nothing more than sugar water with red dye attached. It isn’t going to hurt the honey bees at all. However, you are spending WAY too much to feed your hummingbirds. You can do the same thing by bringing 4 parts water and 1part sugar to a boil (or close to a boil) and allowing the sugar syrup a chance to cool before filling your feeder. It actually isn’t necessary to bring it to a boil, but the sugar dissolves easier and it slows down the growth of bacteria and mold. If the hummingbirds in your area stick around when it starts getting really cold, raise the sugar concentration to 3 parts water and 1 part sugar. That will keep the solution from freezing (down to about 25 degrees) and it helps the birds get through the colder weather. The food coloring isn’t necessary, and there are experts who think it may not be good for the birds.
Also, you can buy feeders that bees can’t raid – they figure it out pretty quickly and will leave your feeder alone. The one that I have found that prevents bees the best is the "Humzinger". You can see one at http://www.aspectsinc.com/2_HumFdrs.html
References :
Comment from trent0123
Time October 22, 2010 at 7:56 pm
It’s hard to say exactly, but I think nectar manufactured for hummingbirds may be different than flower nectar (different sugar used – sucrose vs glucose), therefore, the concentrated nectar, honey, will have a different composition and so may taste different. It’s impossible to say without knowing the sugar used in the hummingbird nectar. Also, the red coloring which attracts the hummingbirds would not disappear as the water is evaporated as the honey is formed, so it will remain in the honey produced.
I’m not saying there will be anything wrong with the honey, just that it will not be EXACTLY the same as honey from flower nectar because of the different sugar used and the coloring. Niether will ‘hurt’ the honey or the bees though.
The red coloring is added because hummingbirds are mostly attracted to the color red.
References :
Chemist