One of the most vexing questions in beekeeping is when to feed, with every beekeeper having his or her own approach to answering this question.
Feed when food stores in your colonies run low; typically spring and fall or when there is an unusual dearth due to weather patterns. Sugar syrup feeding should take place both ways; usually either 1:1 in spring feeding, and 2:1 during fall feedings.
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Spring
If your hive survived winter or you recently added new colonies from packages or nucs, providing extra feedings in early spring is often recommended to ensure they have enough stores to get through changing weather patterns as well as to boost population before pollination begins.
Standard food for colonies consists of a 1:1 sugar:water mixture that mimics natural nectar flow and allows them to get ahead in their spring food production.
Pollen patties contain high levels of protein to stimulate brood rearing. To make sure bees can access them without disrupting their cluster, place the pollen patty close to but not over the cluster on a frame near but not above it. You can use contact feeders, or make one out of plastic ice cream containers with holes sliced in their lids; bees will crawl through these holes to reach their syrup source.
Summer
Many new beekeepers may overlook the need for summer feedings during good honey years, but should nectar flow be delayed or scorching temperatures prevent bees from gathering sufficient nectar, they could run short on food stores by late summer and become vulnerable.
Lifting the hive without opening it can help determine whether or not a colony has run low on food. If the hive feels light and easy to lift, supplementation feedings should begin until flowers bloom again.
As part of your beekeeping care plan, supplementing colonies may require giving a 1:1 sugar-to-water syrup or ready-made bee feed syrup, using pure cane sugar rather than beet sugar (which has been linked with nosema). Some beekeepers use more concentrated 2:1 syrup in fall to encourage brood rearing and help the bees build enough stores for winter; these additional feedings should only be minimal and short-lived; failing this, you risk starving them to death!
Fall
Beekeepers must monitor a colony’s weight and stores during fall to ensure that it has enough to get through winter. Weak or light colonies should be supplemented with protein feed in order to increase their chances of survival, but it should be remembered that weak colonies may not necessarily due to lack of forage but due to issues related to colony health (varroa infestation, not performing mite treatments when needed, etc).
Feeding beekeepers is often an extremely contentious topic. While some choose not to feed any colonies at all – even when queens are being laid or weather conditions prevent foraging – others feed spring, summer, and fall to support new colonies or those lacking sufficient stores; still others use protein patties such as Dadant’s SuperFuel as a convenient means of providing essential carbs and proteins at any time; these protein supplements offer convenient protein needs while simultaneously decreasing feeding frequency.
Winter
At times, winter weather may prove too frigid for bees to digest their stored honey efficiently. When this occurs, it is vitally important that they receive regular sustenance such as sugar mixture without water content as this will enable them to utilize energy more efficiently than they need during this period. Feeding sugar syrup instead may force bees to exert additional effort digesting and process the liquid thus using up unnecessary energy during their winter activities.
Feeding bees during winter is simple if you provide frames of capped honey from storage hives or salvaged colonies, or alternatively offering candy boards, fondant, or sugar bricks from outside sources. Just be sure that any time you open your hive for these supplies it is on a warm day so as to reduce unwanted swarming during spring recolonization efforts. Providing additional protein supplements may lead to unwanted swarming so this should only be done as necessary.
