Winter temperatures make it challenging to locate suitable places and feeders to feed colonies, and you may require one which does not disrupt their clusters.
Table sugar for winter feeding typically comprises two parts granulated sugar to one part water by weight or volume, with additional nutritional supplements to boost its nutritional value. You may add an appetite stimulant as an optional step.
Contents
1. Sugar Water
Sugar water can be created using white table sugar by mixing two parts sugar to one part water by weight or volume. No need to cook this syrup!
Fall recipes tend to use light syrups while winter requires heavier variations – both should have a similar consistency like honey.
Feed this mixture when bees are not clustering; liquid sugar could cause them to start robbing!
2. Sugar Syrup
Sugar syrup should be fed when food supplies run low during late Winter/early Spring. In addition, it may help promote foundation drawing later.
To create sugar syrup, combine equal parts of white granulated sugar and water until all the sugar has completely dissipated. Typically this ratio should be 2:1; however it may change depending on weather.
Feed sugar syrup to your bees by placing a gallon-size zip-lock bag containing about 1/2 gallon of warmed syrup onto one of the top bars above their cluster and puncturing several small holes before securing it around your hive.
3. Baggie Feeder
Baggie feeders provide an efficient but simple method of feeding your colony. Comprised of a frame under the inner cover and plastic feed bags filled with sugary treats that you fill yourself, these simple but effective feeders ensure access to that sugary goodness for the bees.
An inverted container is often the easiest and simplest way to store syrup. This could include anything from a simple quart jar or paint can with holes to one-liter bottles or small bee feeders – the advantage being easy monitoring of feed levels and knowing when refills are needed; but be wary as wet or cold temperatures could cause the syrup to become cold and wet, encouraging mold or fungus growth.
4. Bottom Board Feeder
Bottom board feeders are simple boxes slid forward enough to form an opening in the back where syrup can be poured directly from a bottle. A small board can then be used to block off this gap from view in front.
Bees prefer an entrance feeder because their cluster can access it directly, rather than leaving and going up into the hive to find food. Beekeepers sometimes add pieces of wood floating in syrup so any bee that falls in will have something solid to grab onto and prevent robbing. Entrance feeders can either be purchased premade, or built at home – for optimal performance, place directly over winter bee cluster.
5. Candy Board
If the long winter or hot summer have depleted your honey bees’ food supplies, a candy board can provide relief during these harsher times. Simply place one with sugar inside their hive as an inner cover replacement – there are numerous recipes out there for making candy boards for bees both with and without cooking involved!
For creating a candy board, start with a frame that fits your hive and drill a hole for access. Combine water, vinegar (to prevent mold growth), and sugar before slowly pouring them onto your candy board. As an optional extra you may also add pollen substitute or feeding stimulant.
6. Fondant
Fondant is sugar without water; beekeepers place fondant in their hive in autumn as an emergency source of food if their stores run low or become dispersed throughout winter. Fondant may also be used during a quick flow in spring to keep bees from starving until their stores replenish again.
Fondant is easier for beekeepers to feed than syrup because it does not increase humidity in the hive. Though more costly and time consuming to produce than its sugar equivalent, fondant often justifies its additional expenses in beekeeping terms.
