Bees prefer food they gather themselves, though sometimes this can be challenging in certain places. Supplementing their diet is always preferable over replacing it completely; however, sugar water makes an inadequate replacement.
Honey B Healthy, which contains spearmint and lemongrass essential oils to stimulate feeding and brood production, is one such supplement; similarly Winter Patties offer high-quality proteins to support their colonies during periods of nectar dearth.
Contents
1. Honey
Bees use honey for building their hives as the result of complex chemical processes which transform sugary nectar into an incredible, natural energy food source. But not all honeys are created equal.
Raw honey offers many healthful advantages; to get the most from it, look for unheated and unfiltered varieties. Even though they may contain pieces of honeycomb and dead bees, raw honey contains many beneficial enzymes that have healthful benefits for you.
Raw wildflower honey offers a delightful, creamy taste perfect for sweetening tea, coffee, oatmeal and granola dishes. Plus its moderate price point won’t set back finances either! And we love supporting pollinator conservation efforts with every purchase; one of our favorite brands that also makes an excellent present for anyone who appreciates bees!
2. Pollen
Bee pollen provides bees with essential proteins, fats/lipids and minerals – including proteins. Therefore, feeding bees a variety of floral sources is key to supporting their natural diet and providing their bodies with essential nutrition.
Protein is essential to brood production and survival for beehives; however, its exact composition in pollen varies based on floral source.
Raw pollen contains a thick exterior cellulose barrier that makes digesting it difficult. To address this challenge, bees bring pollen back to their hives where it is fermented and enzyme-activated into bee bread – an easier and more shelf-stable form of protein-rich food for bees than raw pollen itself.
3. Water
At times, exhausted or disoriented bees will land in unfamiliar habitats and require refreshment. Urban beekeepers frequently leave out bowls of sugar water for these exhausted bees to sip from.
Sugar water may not do much damage, but it won’t do them any good either. Bees who drink such artificial brew are likely to return home without enough energy to forage for food sources.
Instead, beekeepers should strive to create an unnatural looking water source with rocks, pebbles, sticks and marbles. Many beekeepers use frame feeders for this task but any shallow dish or receptacle will work just as well. Bees find water by scent rather than sight so sources that smell of wet earth, moss decomposition aquatic plants worms salt chlorine are more attractive than sparkling tap water straight out of the tap.
4. Nutrient Supplements
Pollinators play an essential role in pollinating our food crops, with bees being particularly essential. Unfortunately, bad diet can make bees poor foragers; one researcher found this by studying caged nurse bees fed various foods – they scoured less widely and collected measurably fewer resources before failing to perform their usual waggle dance dance that directs other bees back towards their hive.
Bees need nectar and pollen as food sources; when supplies run low in late winter or early spring, many beekeepers use sugar syrup as an additional food source. A basic recipe consists of one part granulated sugar to one part water by weight or volume heated until all sugar has dissolved into solution.
Some beekeepers supplement their syrup with protein supplements for extra benefits to their bees. These products come in the form of patties which beekeepers place atop of their hive, or powder that can be mixed with dry feed to ensure maximum effectiveness.
5. Protein Patties
Bee patties are high protein pollen alternatives designed to encourage bees to raise brood. Best fed in early spring and again later on in fall, bee patty are also an ideal emergency winter feed solution.
Research indicates that bees seek out carbs, proteins and fats in various quantities to remain healthy and to balance out their needs for sustenance. Caged nurse bees attempt to meet this demand by monitoring what foragers bring back into the hive.
Hendriksma and her team recently demonstrated that when a colony is missing one of these nutrients, forager bees perform their characteristic “waggle dance” more enthusiastically when returning with foods containing it – providing us with insight into bees’ gastronomy preferences as well as any obstacles they encounter on their quests for sustenance. It offers us insight into their preferences as well as any challenges they encounter.
