North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Thomas Olenio" <tolenio@sentex.net>]

Hi,

 

Bees are fed protein too.  Soya flour is common.

 

Just seems odd that the die offs of honeybees started last fall (Fall Dwindle Disease renamed Colony Collapse Disorder), and last fall we know that contaminated gluten entered the feed chain, and that glucose (sugar) is a common honeybee feed.

 

If I understand gluten properly the sugars are washed away from wheat leaving the gluten protein.  Now I doubt industry would just toss away the sugars washed from the wheat.  They would find a market for the sugars.  And if it was the wheat that was contaminated you would find the contamination in the washed out sugars, and the  remaining gluten.

 

This just seems a very reasonable avenue to explore regarding CCD.  Eliminate the obvious.

 

Later,

Tom

 

---

From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of nottke1
Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2007 8:20 AM
To: North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] gluten

 

Tom,

Gluten is a mixture of proteins - I don't think it contains much sugar.

Jim

-----Original Message-----
From: Thomas Olenio
Sent: Apr 18, 2007 8:18 AM
To: 'North American Fruit Explorers'
Subject: [NAFEX] gluten

Hi,

 

According to the USDA…

 

http://www.beesource.com/pov/usda/abjfeb1977.htm

 

…“Sugars which poison bees when fed at low levels in sucrose syrup include galactose, arabinose, xylose, melibiose, mannose, raffinose, stachyose, and lactose (Barker and Lehner, 1974b; Barker 1976a). Pectin, agar, and many gums are toxic or can hydrolyze to toxic sugars. On the other hand, glucose, fructose, maltose, sucrose, melezitose, and trehalose are safe and nutritious. The reasons some sugars are poisonous at low dosages are unknown; conflicting theories have been published. Even important biochemical processes which produce honey from nectar remain cloaked in ignorance.””…

 

From the above this honey bee novice infers that glucose (gluten) is fed to commercial honey bees.

 

It would make sense that if contaminated feed grade, gluten got into the supply chain it may affect honey bees.

 

I know next to nothing about bees, and leave it to experts to figure out.

 

Later,

Tom