Feeding bees with 2:1 sugar water rations helps promote brood rearing during spring and summer, and provides solid food sources like candy boards or fondant for winter feeding needs. In this article we outline an easy sugar syrup recipe without measuring and homemade feeders that can be made easily at home.
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How to Make Sugar Water
Although humans may attempt to manage sugar syrup as we see fit, bees couldn’t care less; their primary need is food and sugar syrup is simply an emergency measure.
Bees require additional nutrition in the fall in order to store honey for winter storage, leaving many beekeepers with empty hives that require replenishing with nectar and nectar supplements.
Sugar water can be easily mixed at home using either a 1:1 sugar syrup (one part sugar to one part water) or even two parts sugar to one part water (2:1). To achieve the best results, make sure you use high quality ingredients and keep the mixture warm so it does not ferment, which could spoil its consistency and lead to robbing in your hive (1).
Sugar water can be easily created by mixing one 25-pound bag of organic sugar with five gallon bucket of hot water, stirring until all of it has dissipated completely. For efficiency if you have multiple hives, larger batches can also be created and kept cold until mixing time comes around again.
Ingredients
Beekeepers generally employ one or more basic sugar syrup recipes. A popular ratio for beekeeping use is 2:1: two parts sugar to one part water. This produces a heavy syrup which is ideal for fall feedings and adding weight to the hive before winter sets in.
Some beekeepers add cream of tartar to their syrup in order to prevent re-crystallization of sugars and act as an antifungal agent and general tonic, while others mix a small amount of lemongrass or spearmint essential oil into it in order to ward off mites or fungus, as well as providing their colony with additional dietary support.
Starting new packages of bees off right requires providing them with liquid feed; this helps them get off quickly in building their comb and stimulating egg laying. Furthermore, it is crucial that this feeding continues until there is evidence that there is sufficient natural forage available; otherwise new bees might starve to death.
Temperature
When creating sugar water for your bees, it is vitally important that the syrup reaches the appropriate temperature – this is particularly critical when feeding new colonies or during winter feedings.
Feed your bees a 1:1 mixture of sugar and water in order to simulate nectar production. For new colonies with no drawn beeswax comb or food stores, feed 1:1 until these resources become available.
Start out with a thicker syrup ratio, such as 2:1, so the honey bees can store their winter supply of food. When measuring sugar and water, either cups or weight should work equally as accurately – weight provides more accurate measurements, however; results won’t differ any way – just be sure to measure everything by weight rather than volume!
Storage
Sugar water feeding requires much more consideration and care than most people realize, and improper application could make bees sick or even kill them (4).
Dependent upon the time and purpose, different ratios may be employed: 2:1 in spring is meant to stimulate comb building while 1:1 is designed to add weight and prepare the hive for winter.
One common method is using a frame feeder, which resembles a plastic trough that fits over the top bars of a hive. You could also place sugar water in a plastic freezer bag and allow the bees to extract it through tiny holes; this method may prove difficult when temperatures become very cold. Another alternative would be creating a “baggie feeder”, using an empty gallon zip lock bag filled with syrup placed on a top bar then cut open along one side (to about three inches), before being placed back onto that bar so bees can extract their sustenance through this slit slit slit!
