Penny

Thanks for the new info, scary. I love honey but its already so high I wont buy it.

Steve

Many thanks for this warning. Why anyone would use the red commercial nectar is beyond me.

Unfortunately there are a lot of people who will see a hummer and run out to the nearest store and buy a feeder and nectar powder or liquid thinking that this is what they are supposed to use since the store is selling it. If it is being sold it must be the right thing to use. I encourage everyone to alert their friends and neighbors about using the red stuff. Not only is it possibly harming the hummers over a period of time but it is also tainting the honey.

Penny

Thanks for the heads up, Penny. Hummingbird enthusiasts, make sure to tell your neighbors about this added danger of red dye...most people use it out of ignorance. I did myself, before I found out better.

Perhaps the honey companies will now put pressure on the nectar producers to stop using the red, though I find it hard to believe that this is a problem that just showed up overnight.

Perhaps sites like this need to start petitions, or better yet... Each site start a thread that starts off with a statement showing that a link was sent to [companies names] and specifically [ CEO of such companies] to this thread so that they know how the forum users feel about the red dye. Heck... it would save them money by leaving out the red stuff!!!! Problem might be in that there are only a small amount of posters here on the hummingbird forum, but the fact that it is so public might count for something.

I sell nectar and hummer sugar in my store. I refuse to sell the dyed nectar and the sugar mix I sell is also clear. I once said on here that the stores that continue to sell the red dyed products do so because they are too lazy to educate the consumer. I also suggested that people should think twice about shopping at such a store.

Some stores have stopped selling the nectar with red dye but Perky Pet is one company that has been contacted and refuses to pull it off the market because they believe that is where their repeat sales are.

Ken this didn't happen overnight. Honeybees are not normally drawn to feeders very much but I was told by bee keepers last year that because plant breeders are altering the natural chemistry of so many plants....bigger blooms, higher yeilds, new colors etc. that nectar production is being compromised and this is causing our bees to go to hummer feeders more for the nectar that they need. consequently the red dye is showing up more and more in cells within the hives. Here again man is destroying the natural order of nature in order to make a profit.

Penny

Penny wrote:

"but I was told by bee keepers last year that because plant breeders are altering the natural chemistry of so many plants....bigger blooms, higher yeilds, new colors etc. that nectar production is being compromised and this is causing our bees to go to hummer feeders more for the nectar that they need"

I read something to this fact the other day while browsing the web looking for good hummingbird plants. They stated that one should stay away from the new fancy hybirds as they do produce less nectar. Interesting! I wonder just how easy it would be these days to find plants in their native state.

Ken
Most hummer plants are not the drop dead gorgeous plants that you find at nurseries with oversized blooms and vibrant colors.
There are still lots of species that haven't been hybridized to alter their genetic make up. Generally many of the good hummer plants haven't suffered the fate of more elaborate plants like Dahlias, Roses, Lilies, etc. because their flowers are simple.
Penny