Feeding bees in late summer to fall is an integral component of beekeeping, when forage becomes scarcer and colonies require extra sugar or fondant as forage becomes less available.
Frame or top feeders that allow the bees to fill themselves without opening the hive are optimal, helping prevent robbing. Should food stimulants be added?
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Bees Need Nectar
Bee colonies unable to store enough honey before Fall’s cooler winds arrive will likely struggle, especially those lacking adequate Varroa mite control and successful treatments in place.
Bees gather nectar with their proboscis and store it in an organ called the honey stomach, where its sugar content will eventually be converted to honey. Nectar contains water mixed with sucrose – its sugar component used later to create honey products.
Colonies require pollen for egg-laying in spring; in autumn they focus on stockpiling energy-rich food sources to prepare themselves for winter survival. Early spring flowers such as crocus, sweet alyssum and coral bells make an excellent source of forage for these colonies.
If your colony appears to be struggling, try conducting a “heft test” during late summer to gauge its weight (watch this how-to video for instructions). Or make syrup using half of a plastic freezer bag filled with dry white table sugar, squeezed out to remove air, mixed with 2:1 water to create a drinkable syrup for your bees to consume easily.
Bees Need Protein
Feeding heavy sugar syrup during fall increases protein in a colony and increases their chances of overwinter survival. Protein plays many important roles within an beehive such as maintaining its structure, fighting pests off, raising new queens and nurturing young bees into maturity.
Bees benefit most from receiving sugar syrup with a 2:1 water/sugar (volume measurements, not weight measurements) ratio in the fall, as this concentration of the feed reduces energy expended in turning it to honey consistency, helping them conserve winter stores more effectively.
Some beekeepers use pollen substitutes in the fall to increase protein content of their syrup and help their bees overwinter more successfully. Although there is some debate as to its impact, I do believe it contributes to bee survival.
Bees Need Carbohydrates
As forage availability dwindles in fall, bees must change their diet in response to decreasing forage availability by shifting towards carbohydrates. Diets high in carbohydrates provide energy needed for flight and colony warmth; further research indicates queenless bees prioritize carb intake over essential fatty acids (EAAs) intake for long term survival; those living on EAA diets have shorter lifespans than those receiving sufficient quantities of carbohydrates.
Ontario Municipal Animal Food and Regulation Agency (OMAFRA) suggests feeding 15 L (4 gallons) of syrup at a ratio of 2:1 sugar-to-water (weight instead of volume). A higher percentage of sugar provides more energy per gram than would otherwise be achieved through mixing 1:1.
Care should be taken not to over-feed. In many places, colonies should have enough stored honey from this summer’s plentiful honey flow for themselves, and excessive feeding could cause issues like robbing, brood nest congestion or queenless hives. If supplemental feeding becomes necessary in a particular hive, thoroughly examine its cause before proceeding further with its feeding program.
Bees Need Water
Wild bees often select water sources that appear suspect; this includes muddy mole holes and stagnant ditch waters which often contain chlorine and other potentially toxic chemicals.
Even with all their honey stores, bees may need additional food in the fall as forage availability decreases and they require an immediate increase to ensure sufficient winter provisions.
OMAFRA recommends feeding each colony a gallon of sugar syrup mixed in a 2:1 ratio between sugar and water, to be fed on a 2:1 basis. It is critical that this sugar syrup be properly ripened so that bees will cap it, otherwise fermentation could occur and be detrimental to them. Furthermore, beekeepers must provide reliable sources of clean, fresh water – many beekeepers place bird baths or similar shallow containers close by the hive to allow bees to get fresh water without traveling far.
