Welcome to the Lane County Beekeepers Association!

Feeding Honeybees 

Spring Feeding 

In spring when starting a colony from a package of bees you always have to feed packaged-started colonies. When a package of bees is placed into an empty hive, the bees don’t have a store of food like an established colony. It takes a lot of energy to draw out foundation and make comb. That energy has to come from someplace NOW. You have to provide it to get them started. Point: during spring the weather can prohibit the bees’ ability to get out and forage which is another reason to feed.

In late spring also known as the “May dearth”. This applies to package-started colonies and established hives. Often there is a lack of food during late spring, especially May, just before the honey flow. You need to monitor and make sure bees have sufficient stores.

Q. Do you feed bees in summer?    A. Don’t need to if the blackberries are blossoming as this is also known as the nectar flow.

Feeding a Hive Starting with a Package:

         Sugar Syrup: You will need approximately 1 gallon or more of syrup per hive

         Materials:

*Note: Liquid feed can only be fed when temperatures are above 50 degrees.

Winter Bees:

One of the most important winter chores is to heft the hive body to check if it’s light in weight. If so, it is low in honey stores. In the winter and early spring your bees will starve if they consume all of their honey reserves or they move to the edge of the hive where they no longer contact honey frames. In this case you will need to feed a solid source of pure carbohydrate.  You can make fondant, sugar patties or just use pure cane sugar.  It is very easy to apply on one of those 50 degree days where you can quickly lift the hive cover and place the fondant or sugar patties directly on the frames or inner cover. Bees do love fondant more than anything else at this time of year. It’s soft and, if they decide to store it, they don’t have to spend energy evaporating water from it.  It’s fun to make – just be sure you don’t eat it before you get it to your hives!  Making sugar patties is a lot easier and just putting sugar in your hive is faster also.

Bee Fondant:

(Note: The first few times you will want to make small batches. 4 cups sugar to 1 cup water is a good amount)

• 1 part water: 4 parts sugar  (by volume or weight - it doesn't matter which, in this case
• 1/4 teaspoon vinegar per cup of sugar*  (If using 4 cups sugar, use 1 tsp vinegar.)
• 
  
• Put in pan and heat and stir until it comes to a boil.
• Don’t let sugar burn! If it turns brown or dark tan, it will make the bees sick.
• Boil for 3 minutes with cover on pan.
• Boil uncovered until soft ball stage* * Do not stir. (Starts at 234 degrees F, ends at                      242 degrees F ).
• Turn off heat and cool to 200 degrees F.
• Whip with a whisk until white (give it 5 – 10 minutes).
• Pour onto waxed paper on cookie sheets.
• Cool undisturbed.
• Cut up into squares, separate with waxed paper, store in plastic bag in freezer.

When feeding bees, warm fondant to room temp and put on top of frames or around hole in inner cover. Do not expose bees to cold for more than several seconds.

* The vinegar is used to invert the sugars to turn the sucrose in table sugar to glucose and fructose sugars found in fruits and honey.

** The “soft ball” sugar stage is described in wonderful web site: 

Different stages of sugar start at around 4 min 29 sec into the video

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgRvA9Lk_N8

Pure Cane Sugar Patties - A short, but sure-fire way to get emergency sugar to your winter bees

• Prepare sugar cakes by pouring out pure cane sugar in a bowl and adding warm water.
• Stir until the sugar feels like beach sand.
• Make these into patties (4 - 6 inches in diameter) and press over waxed paper.
• Before applying to the hive, trim the paper so bees can easily access the patties.
• Apply on frames on the top box where the bees are clustered.
• Remember the bee space; you will need to use a spacer between the patties and the cover, if not using a moisture box or inner cover above the patties.

Store unused patties in the freezer.

                 

        “Beach sand” texture             Hungry bees consuming pure sugar patties     

Candy Board

• 10 lbs. of table sugar
• 12 tablespoons of hot tap water
• Strong paper plates or a candy mold (must be assembled; see reference below)

Preparation:

• Place contents of 10 lb. bag of sugar into a large mixing bowl.
• Add 12 tablespoons of hot water into the sugar. Add more hot water if necessary. (Remember the more water you add, the longer it will take to harden).
• Mix by hand or with a large, strong spoon until the mixture is uniformly moist.
• When using paper plate application, put a piece of parchment paper over it; when using the candy mold, parchment paper is not needed.
• Dispense the mixture into the plate or mold.
• Tamp mixture down until firm.
• Let set overnight.

Application:

• Remove the no cook candy from the parchment/paper plate and place it on top of the top bars of the hive.
• If using a candy mold, place the candy board frame on top of an Imerie shim and place the assembly on top of the brood area.
• Do not expose bees to cold air for more than several seconds. 

                                        

                                     

                       Candy Board                                                Emire Shim