YorkshireNewbee · Yorkshire, UK · Beginners · Aug 5, 2026

Dearth feeding: 1:1 or 2:1 right now? And when do I stop one and start the other?

First year in Yorkshire, one hive from a May nuc. The flow's clearly stopped — hive's lighter than three weeks ago when I heft it, and inspections show them backfilling nothing. Every source I read gives me a different syrup gospel. 1:1 'stimulates brood', 2:1 'is for winter stores', but nobody tells me which one a hungry colony needs in early August, or the calendar for switching. I don't want to stimulate them into raising brood they can't feed, but I also don't want them starving in a gap between now and the ivy. Currently they've maybe the equivalent of 3-4 deep frames of stores. Internal rapid feeder ready to go. What's the actual playbook?

#feeding#dearth#syrup#beginners

▲ 7 votes 💬 3 replies

3 replies

PerthshireBees · Aug 5, 2026

For a first-year colony that's light in a dearth: feed 1:1 now, steadily, until they're not light. Right now it's survival and keeping the queen laying those all-important autumn bees — 1:1 does both. The 2:1 phase is September-ish, when you're deliberately packing winter stores they'll cap rather than use. Don't overthink the calendar: light now = thin syrup now.

ImkerinLena · Aug 5, 2026

PerthshireBees's rule of thumb is sound. The reasoning: 1:1 resembles nectar, so it supports brood rearing — which you WANT in August, those are your winter bees. 2:1 is denser, less work to ripen, so it gets stored — right for September/October. Stop feeding altogether once the winter target is reached (in your climate roughly 18-20 kg stores) or the bees stop taking it in the cold. And feed in the evening, entrance reduced — you're in robbing season.

YorkshireNewbee · Aug 6, 2026

Crystal clear, thank you both. Two litres of 1:1 went in the rapid feeder this evening, entrance already reduced after reading this week's robbing threads. I'll heft weekly and switch to 2:1 next month.

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