Beekeepers provide sugar water to bees during the summer for various reasons. One is to ease an especially difficult period when floral sources provide limited nectar and pollen sources for them to feed on.
Another goal is to facilitate wax production for comb building. Additionally, bees require sugar water as fuel for all their other activities inside and outside their hives.
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1. Mixing the Sugar
Depending on their condition, bees may need sugar water as an alternative food source when honey becomes unavailable. Bees don’t discriminate when it comes to feeding sources and will accept an artificial sugar solution in its place when nothing else can be provided.
There are various mixtures that can be created using just water and sugar, including 1:1 ratio sugar-to-water for encouraging brood rearing and building up honey stores during late winter and early spring.
Another solution is 2:1 syrup, which is a thick sugar mixture used when bees need food in autumn. It resembles honey more closely and mimics its consistency more effectively than spring syrup does.
Recipe is simple – heat water first and add sugar gradually while stirring until all crystals have disintegrated. Beware not to boil as that could cause it to caramelize and be toxic to bees.
2. Cane Sugar
Sugar cane is a tropical plant that requires large amounts of water in order to grow properly. Once matured, harvesting may commence after one year has elapsed.
Once cane is harvested, it is transported to factories for processing into cane juice and then filtered via evaporation to remove any impurities that may exist.
After being evaporated, cane juice is then boiled to produce a dark syrup-like molasses-like liquid that can then be refined into various sugar products that consumers know and love.
Cane sugar is a staple ingredient in baked goods worldwide. Highly versatile, cane sugar is often used in various baking applications as well as being an effective sweetener in beverages like coffee and tea.
3. The Concentration
Bees need sugar in a 1:1 ratio with water during queen rearing to stimulate wax production needed for comb building and other activities inside and outside their hive. This mixture also promotes their general well-being.
Newly installed packaged bees often struggle to establish themselves due to diseases like chalkbrood or American foulbrood, varroa mites, nosema or weather conditions that do not provide ample food sources. Proper management of newly installed packages bees should include providing ample food sources in their environment to improve chances of their survival and make an effort toward sustainability.
To increase their sugar consumption, beekeepers often feed bees a 2:1 syrup (2 parts sugar to one part water). This syrup can then be stored inside their hive through winter provided it’s regularly replenished by bees.
Thick syrup with a ratio of 3:1 (3 parts sugar to one part water) is often used in the fall to assist bees in building their stores for winter. It requires less processing for them to store properly.
4. The Type of Sugar
Sugar is a simple carbohydrate found in sugar beet and sugar cane plants, and contains glucose and fructose as two of its main constituents – both are key constituents in honey.
Both honey and sugar contain high caloric density and may contribute to excess weight gain, increasing blood sugar levels, leading to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay.
Glycemic index (GI) of products shows how quickly energy is released in your body. Products with low GI scores tend to be better for you than those with higher GI numbers.
Molasses or brown sugar may also work well as alternative feeding sources for bees during summer, as these sweeter options make bee digestion simpler.
Honey water can help soothe sore throats and ease fever symptoms quickly and efficiently, while adding lemon juice can provide an invigorating drink to get through cold season.
