Candy boards (sometimes referred to as Winter Patties) provide bees with extra nutrition during the cold months of winter. Placed directly above their hive cluster, an inner cover should then be installed over it for protection from snowfall and frost.
Start by placing sugar, water and vinegar in a large plastic storage tub and mixing until all three ingredients have been thoroughly mixed together.
Contents
No-Cook
Sugar boards provide emergency or supplement winter feedings to colonies with limited food stocks. While not intended to fully replace honey storage needs, sugar boards offer some safety net if your colony had an inefficient summer and wasn’t able to store enough.
Many recipes for candy board sugar require extensive steps. But this one couldn’t be simpler: Simply pour a bag of sugar into a large bowl and slowly mix in water/vinegar until all 1/2 cups have been added; stir after each 1/2 cup addition.
This recipe includes vinegar as an anti-fungal agent to avoid mildew on the sugar, while Honey B Healthy helps bees digest it more easily. Once mixed, simply spread out on a candy board directly over your top bee box allowing the bees easy access without disturbing their hive, while moisture from respiratory movements of bees will absorb into it and keep it dry as temperatures fluctuate.
Cooked
Many recipes for candy boards, also known as bee fondant or sugar syrup, can become complex quickly; but this one is quick, straightforward, and uses materials found at most woodworking shops.
Winter-Bee-Kinds should be placed on your hive so the candy faces downward towards the cluster, with its entrance/exit hole passing through it. This helps to reduce condensation inside of your hive while diverting moisture toward working for rather than against your colony.
Winter-Bee-Kinds should be introduced later in winter when colonies are feeding off stored honey, and closer to spring when their natural stores could possibly run low and need an injection of pollen substitutes. However, if a colony has already started building for spring you can introduce Winter-Bee-Kinds earlier than that as they serve as a great replacement for pollen patties.
Parchment Paper
Candy boards may seem appealing but may not work in practice. Candy boards require colony members to leave the cluster, get water, liquefy their candy and return with it after collecting. This process is too time consuming and cumbersome.
Candy boards may also be difficult to place where colonies are swarming or creating nuisance, so winter patties may be preferable as they do not require the colony to break cluster.
To create this version, combine granulated sugar with vinegar and water in a large storage tub before pouring it out onto a candy board frame attached to a wooden shim that sits atop your colony hive. It serves both insulation and ventilation needs while simultaneously acting as moisture absorbents to prevent mold growth during wintertime hivekeeping operations.
Pollen Patties
Sugar Candy Boards, commonly referred to fondant boards, can be found online with various recipes and construction variations available for them. Candy boards provide food, ventilation and upper insulation so bees can remain healthy during winter.
Mix 8 pounds of sugar with 1.5 cups of water and one cup of vinegar or other acid; stirring well to moisten. Next, crumble pollen patties or MegaBee powder into the mix and combine again before adding crumbled pollen patties or MegaBee powder as you go.
Spread this mixture on the bottom of a wooden frame that fits directly into your hive and cover with wax paper with an access hole cut for bee access. If using Betterbee winter patties instead, no pollen patty needs to be created – these formulated energy packed carbohydrates contain lots of energy packed carbohydrates along with some fat and protein to ensure bee survival – simply place on top of candy boards as part of a pollen board plan!
