When stocks become low, feeding bees sugar water is an immediate food source that will give them immediate nourishment.
Granulated sugar dissolved in water is used as a stand-in for natural plant nectar, serving to recreate its appearance.
Beekeepers can easily create a sugar water feeder by punching 6-8 small holes into the lid of an empty canning jar or other airtight container and placing it upside-down on a riser.
How to Make Sugar Water
Sugar water is the go-to solution for feeding bees and it’s incredibly straightforward. Simply mix white granulated sugar with water in order to imitate plant nectar that bees are used to collecting.
Many beekeepers recommend a specific ratio of sugar to water, often 2 parts sugar to 1 part water. Although this serves as a general rule of thumb, local conditions might require changes – for instance in hot climates more heavy syrup may be required to encourage comb building and brood rearing.
To create sugar water, simply bring a bucket of water just up to boiling and mix in dry sugar, stirring to dissolve it as you go. Let it cool before measuring its concentration by weight or volume – either will work. Some beekeepers also add liquid feeding supplements for extra nutrition as well as to deter mites and fungus growth in their sugar water solution.
Mixing Ratios
No matter the season, bees sometimes require assistance. If your bee colonies have new colonies, nectar shortages or early freeze issues, supplemental feeding may be necessary to keep their colony alive and thriving.
Sugar syrup mixes can vary depending on the time and conditions surrounding foraging activities, with light syrup consisting of 1 part sugar to one part water in terms of weight or volume, while heavier (typically used during autumn feedings) mixtures can have 2:1 sugar-to-water ratios.
In order to successfully make sugar syrup, only dry white sugar should be used. Any other variety (brown, organic or natural) could contain harmful fungi spores which will make your bees sick, potentially even killing them.
I also suggest adding several healthy teaspoons of essential oils to the mix, to both help prevent robbing and provide a supplemental flavor boost for bees. Finally, never feed honey supers to beehives as this will encourage robbing behavior.
Inverted Feeders
Inverted feeders allow bees to access syrup through an opening in their side and are an efficient and cost-effective solution; however, more work and labor are involved with using inverted feeders than with other feeding methods. Furthermore, inverted feeders tend to cost more.
One advantage of this type of feeder is that it’s easily handled when refilling, eliminating the risk of robbing. Unfortunately, its design means it can drown a great number of bees during its filling frenzy and eventually flood them all at once!
One variation on this theme is the pail feeder, featuring an embedded stainless steel feeder screen into its lid of a bucket. When filled to near capacity with syrup and inverted onto an inner cover hole or frame tops of a hive, bees crawl up onto it, lick off any excess syrup off, and consume their food; making this type of feeder less likely to drown them than other options.
