Candy boards provide an easy and efficient way to feed bees during winter. Their sugar blocks help prevent moisture build-up in their hives which could prove fatal for their survival.
Make a candy board using an inner cover with an interior space and drill a hole at its front edge, installing it above your cluster hive cluster for bee access through this opening.
Contents
Ingredients
Many beekeepers use candy boards to protect their colonies during winter. They can easily be constructed out of scrap lumber and hardware cloth, providing food, ventilation, insulation and an entrance/exit point so the bees remain healthy throughout overwintering.
There are various recipes online for making candy boards. While some require cooking, others do not and ultimately it depends on your beekeeper and what best suits their region and climate.
At our beekeeping school, we recommend creating an easy recipe with corn sugar, granulated sugar, water and honey feeding additives such as pollen substitute and AP23 or Honey B Healthy. Slowly bring this mixture to a boil over medium heat until soft ball stage (250 degrees) has been reached before pouring onto a candy board to cool before adding to your hive.
Preparation
Candy boards are large blocks of sugar placed inside a beehive during winter to control moisture build-up that could otherwise lead to mold and mildew growth. Bees feed off this sugar as energy for heat production as well as additional water and carbon dioxide production which keep their bodies alive through winter months.
My preferred recipe can be found below. As this process requires quick mixing and is hot work, a large deep kettle may be required.
I recommend using a wire mesh frame that fits an 8 or 10 frame box, with an exit cut into one of the short sides for bees to easily access their candy supply. This makes it simple for them to locate and enter the frame.
Mixing
Candy board can be created easily using a cake pan and pouring the mixture on it, though some beekeepers prefer a more precise approach in order to prevent the patty from cracking as it dries.
Some recipes call for the sugar to be cooked until soft ball stage, but I’ve discovered this can cause it to migrate from its center if too warm and can lead to mold when overdone – therefore a firmer consistency would be ideal.
Once ready to use, place the Candy Board feeder over a Winter Bee-Kind hive cluster with the sugar side down and the insulation/wire mesh opening facing forward. Replace both inner and outer covers. Check regularly for bee activity.
Filling
Candy boards are an emergency or supplemental winter feeding option designed to aid a bee colony during harsh conditions. Made up of low-protein winter patties designed specifically to add food sources without depleting their stored honey stores too quickly.
A basic candy board consists of a shallow super with two sides that serves as its inner cover. Sugar syrup cooked to soft ball stage is then quickly beaten until stiff before quickly pouring it onto the board.
Candy boards should be placed directly over the cluster in your hive. On warmish winter days, bees will break their cluster to lick the candy board before returning it back into their food reserves – providing your bees with an additional source of nourishment during a harsh season. It is an essential and simple way to give them extra sustenance during an otherwise harsh winter season.
Tapping
Add vinegar to this candy board sugar recipe in order to prevent mildew growth during winter, and thus prevent your bees from being unable to access and feed off of it. This will also keep the sugar from becoming sticky and unusable by your bees.
Mix the water/vinegar mixture slowly into the sugar while continuously stirring to form a wet, grainy sugar mixture that holds its shape when poured out.
Pour the sugar mixture onto a candy board frame and spread evenly. This will enable bees to access their winter supply of sweetener without having to climb onto its inner cover and risk injury from doing so.
