How and when should I feed my bees?
Feed thin one-to-one syrup in spring to stimulate laying, and thick two-to-one in autumn to build winter stores, which the bees can cure and cap quickly. Fondant is for emergency midwinter feeding directly above the cluster. Never feed while honey supers are on, and never feed in the open, which starts robbing.
Step by step
- White granulated sugar
- Hive-top or contact feeder
- Fondant for midwinter
- Pick the feed the season calls for: thin one-to-one syrup in spring to stimulate laying, thick two-to-one in autumn for stores, fondant only as a midwinter emergency.
- Dissolve the sugar completely in hot water and let the syrup cool to hive temperature before it goes on.
- Take any honey supers off first. Feeding a colony you intend to harvest puts sugar syrup into your jars.
- Place the feeder inside the hive, directly above the cluster. Feeding in the open starts robbing and can destroy a weaker colony nearby.
- Keep refilling until the colony stops taking it down, or in autumn until the hive is heavy enough for your winter.
The full lesson
Honey and pollen are the most fundamental and natural foods for bees. Artificial feeding should only be done when resources are scarce. In early spring, a thin sugar syrup mixed at a 1 to 1, 1 to 1 ratio is given to encourage the queen bee to lay eggs. In autumn, a thick and dense sugar syrup mixed at a 2 to 1, 2 to 1 ratio should be preferred so bees can build winter stocks.
Only pure white beet sugar must be used for making syrup. Brown sugar or starch-based sugars will make the bees sick. Do not give liquid syrup to bees in winter clusters. Instead, place a bee fondant cake over the frames to prevent hive moisture.
When there is a pollen scarcity in nature, protein cakes or pollen patty supplements are fed to support brood development. Depending on the hive design, bag feeding, frame feeders, or top feeders should be used while keeping them completely clean. Syrup feeding must always be done in the evening or at night. Otherwise, massive robbing wars can break out between hives.
Bees need clean water to dissolve syrup and cool the hive. Safe water sources with floats must be set up in the apiary. Overfeeding shrinks the brood area and increases the swarming urge. Feeding should always be balanced according to need.
For more information, visit www.fema.org
This lesson is also in the app, along with the other twenty-nine.
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