Using invertase

[sbamember2014]

I read various reports of inverting sucrose using vinegar, lemon juice or cream of tartar and have decided not to use any of these as opinion seems to vary so much.
However is there any problem with using a few drops of the enzyme invertase. I have bought a small bottle and want to be sure that there is no problems.

John Baker

[Rosie]

Sounds like a good idea to me but how would you know if and when it has worked?

[Little_John]

Why bother inverting with anything ? The bees can do that perfectly well on their own, with the enyzmes that nature gave 'em.

[Black Comb]

Or just buy some ambrosia or Apisuc and it's been done for you.

[Rosie]

Why bother inverting with anything ? The bees can do that perfectly well on their own, with the enyzmes that nature gave 'em.

That's an interesting point LJ. I remember an association secretary once saying that overfeeding is not a problem because if the excess sugar stores are moved into the supers in the spring it will be inverted and would not be distinguishable from honey. However, we know that trading standards can detect sucrose and high sucrose honeys such as borage should not be mixed with other types because the resultant high sucrose honey can be mistaken for adulteration. How much inversion are the bees really capable of? Does anyone know?

[rogerb]

I looked into using invertase some time ago and can see no reason why it would not work, as an industrial process they use lots of the enzyme and I think some heat, but in that case time is money. For us, where time is less important, then using minimal amounts of enzyme and lots of time would be a good way to go economically, but what proportions of which would be effective I do not know.

The issues as I see them are;
Feed inverted sugar to your bees and they will be all the better for having an easy and directly palatable source of food.
For this you can pay the makers of ambrosia 5 times the price of sugar in order to help your poor bees.
Or make your own inverted sugar by the use of invertase.

So, until I win the lottery, for me understanding the desire to make your own is not rocket science.

As such if anyone out there is enlightened and bright enough to make their own inverted sugar and then tell dullards like me how to do it then they will have done a great service to bees and beekeepers, though the makers of ambrosia may be a bit ticked…….. Good luck John and I do hope you’ll share your findings with us (or with me anyway), and in answer to your original question I don’t think the enzyme can do the bees any harm after all it is what they make and use themselves.

[Little_John]

[QUOTE=rogerb;24404Feed inverted sugar to your bees and they will be all the better for having an easy and directly palatable source of food. [/QUOTE]

"Honey, which is mostly fructose and glucose, did not sustain caged worker bees as long as did sucrose syrup (Barker and Lehner, 1973). Nevertheless, many beekeepers consider honey to be an ideal food for bees in spite of the risks of spreading disease with it.
Consequently, table sugar that has been hydrolyzed to invert syrup containing glucose and fructose is often fed to bees. Justification for this practice is not based upon nutritional data but on an assumption that hydrolysis aids digestion. Syrups are convenient to feed, and hydrolysis reduces granulations in syrup. Also, robbing may be less of a problem with inverted sugar because glucose and fructose become less attractive than sucrose when bees reach foraging age (Barker and Lebner, 1974c). Although the inverted sugar tastes sweeter to man, it is no more attractive than sucrose to bees."

'Considerations in Selecting Sugars for Feeding to Honey Bees', ROY J. BARKER,
U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bee Research Laboratory.
In 'American Bee Journal', February, 1977.


Even if it were true that inverted sugar is more easily digested by bees, that would only apply to fully inverted sugar - i.e. honey. Whereas most beekeepers only partially invert their syrup - which, to my mind, is completely pointless. So why is it done ? I'd suggest beekeepers feed partially inverted syrup, because other beekeepers feed partially inverted syrup, and for no other reason.

[Little_John]

That's an interesting point LJ. I remember an association secretary once saying that overfeeding is not a problem because if the excess sugar stores are moved into the supers in the spring it will be inverted and would not be distinguishable from honey. However, we know that trading standards can detect sucrose and high sucrose honeys such as borage should not be mixed with other types because the resultant high sucrose honey can be mistaken for adulteration. How much inversion are the bees really capable of? Does anyone know?

That (the bit in BOLD) is certainly not always the case. I've seen bees move fondant, for example, and deposit it in cells without having digested it first (i.e. it remained white in colour). Presumably the same could be true of excess sucrose ? If so, then that would explain how sucrose can remain non-inverted and thus detectable.

[Little_John]

if anyone out there is enlightened and bright enough to make their own inverted sugar and then tell dullards like me how to do it then they will have done a great service to bees and beekeepers.

I'm not sure WHY you want to do this - but it's simple enough:

All inverted sugar syrups are created from hydrolyzing sucrose to glucose (dextrose) and fructose by heating a sucrose solution, then relying on time alone, with the catalytic properties of an acid or enzymes used to speed the reaction. Commercially prepared acid catalysed solutions are neutralized when the desired level of inversion is reached.

Inverted sugar syrup can be made by adding approx. one gram of citric acid or ascorbic acid per kilogram of sugar. Cream of tartar (one gram per kilogram) or fresh lemon juice (10 milliliters per kilogram) may also be used.

The mixture is boiled for 20 minutes at a temperature of 114 °C (237 °F), which will convert enough of the sucrose to effectively prevent crystallization, without giving a noticeably sour taste. Invert sugar syrup may also be produced without the use of acids or enzymes by thermal means alone: two parts granulated sucrose and one part water simmered for five to seven minutes will convert a modest portion to invert sugar.

[rogerb]

Hi Little_John,

Thanks for the thought and info, but not that simple (sadly), you get some nasty’s by the use of heat that can get into your bees (often not too much of a problem) and into your honey, which is a big problem if you get inspected, given that we sell a premium product bad press is not a good idea.

The use of invertase is a much better idea as it is more controllable but needs to be studied to get it right, it is incidentally what the manufacturers of the bee feeds use, so that should give us a clue. Oh and if it gets into your honey it cannot be identified as not being honey, so it cannot get you into trouble.

I do agree that the jury is out on whether this is all necessary (I currently use T&L mixed with water in the old way), but there is no doubt that if you do the enzymic work for the bees all they have to do is store it, dry it (but much less than the T&L mix) and cap it. Thereby if you are late getting organised, as you may well be if you have been to the heather, then this could be very useful, and there are a lot of guys out there that use nothing else and they get good results.

Another interesting idea is that table sugar can be inverted by mixing it with honey and water and leaving the naturally occurring invertase in the honey to do the job for you, seems a waste of honey (given its value is so high) but this might appeal as long as you have enough of your own to spare, I would not advocate using anyone else’s as the risk of disease transfer is too high.