As colonies emerge from Winter and resume foraging in Spring, they require food. By feeding colonies during this season we help avoid starvation, promote population and brood growth and make them better prepared to take advantage of the spring nectar flow.
Beekeepers typically create a 1:1 mixture of sugar and water by volume or weight.
Contents
What is Sugar Water?
Sugar water is a mixture of equal parts sugar and water used to supplement beehive food supplies, often fed to new colonies or to those who have experienced lost honey stores due to late frost or nectar shortage.
Before creating sugar water, it is vital that all equipment and containers be thoroughly disinfected to avoid spreading harmful bacteria that could make bees sick. Chlorine bleach can be used as an effective disinfectant solution that will ensure everything that will come into contact with sugar syrup will remain germ-free.
Some beekeepers prefer making 1:1 sugar water that closely resembles flower nectar, while others opt for 2:1 honey-like solution that encourages comb building during spring and fall and provides enough food stores to support winter survival. Knowing your ratio allows you to prepare the correct amount of feed for your colony.
How to Make Sugar Water
As soon as spring arrives, new bee colonies (especially over-wintered nucs or newly installed packages) may require supplemented sugar water until natural food becomes readily available to them. This is especially important if they experience rapid growth and brood rearing; 1:1 sugar syrup supplementation has proven particularly successful for beekeepers to promote brood rearing and foster rapid brood rearing rates. Beekeepers tend to opt for this feeding strategy.
Sugar water can be made quickly by boiling the water, adding sugar, and simmering it until clear liquid results. A paint mixer makes this process even simpler while being much gentler on your hands!
Hotter water dissolves sugar more rapidly; room temperature water works just as well without needing a kettle. Stir continuously while bringing it to boil; using filtered or spring water may give better results. Add lemon juice if you wish for added tartness before pouring your final creation into an airtight bottle or jar to store in the refrigerator once chilled.
Feeding Sugar Water to Bees
In Spring and Summer, beehives should receive a 2:1 sugar water mix as a source of carbohydrates until natural food sources become available. Feeders should be removed once beehives stop taking up this syrup in order to prevent fermentation or moisture buildup in their hives.
Some beekeepers utilize an internal double jar feeder, as this type of feeder tends not to promote robbing as often as entrance feeders that sit near the entryway of a hive.
Beekeepers using standard quart jars often feed using this method, filling two thirds of it with granulated sugar before topping off with hot tap water and stirring until all of it dissolves completely – an efficient and timesaving way of feeding honeybees! This approach also removes the need to measure out individual components such as sugar and water separately – saving both time and effort!
Storage of Sugar Water
Sugar water is an easy and cost-effective way to feed honey bees, lasting for at least a month in an airtight container like glass jar thanks to sugar’s natural preservative properties that bind with free water molecules, protecting it from bacteria entering and spoiling.
Sugar water can help promote brood rearing during early spring or supplement a weaker overwintering colony, but is no replacement for honey; to produce honey bees need both pollen and sugar syrup sources as building blocks for their creation of honeycomb.
When feeding bees sugar water, small batches are best fed through clean feeders to avoid becoming clogged up and making cleaning difficult. Large bottle feeders tend to become clogged over time and make cleanup harder.
