There seems to be some kind of movement in regards to not doing anything with bees. That feeding is a bad thing. That HFCS, sugar and anything else is bad for bees. That bees left to their own devices is the best approach. That this simulates "nature" and should be the path taken.
Ok, well lets go with that.
Want to guess in nature how many swarms make it through winter the first year? About 10-20%
Nature is very hard on bees. Colonies swarm every year, and yet we are not inundated with bees are we? Although in nature almost all colonies swarm, nature kills off most swarms, except a few that replace the loss from the established colonies that fail in requeening attempts or from natural distruction.
So ask yourself, are you happy with that kind of survival rate?
We as beekeepers have much better survival rates with swarms and splits because we give them comb, transfer over brood, and among other things, feed. We keep bees to achieve a desired result. We, or at least many do, want better survival rates than what nature dictates, and we want excess honey production.
I've seen some promoting this "hands-off' idea that feeding and anything else is bad for bees. And if someone wants to go down that road, then also understand that mimicking nature may not really be a rosy path of the results you desire.