Any ideas-? Stores light....

[prana vallabha]

hi ..... i checked my colony a week ago and the stores were heavey ,i could only just heft hive off floor with 2 fingers. I went today and hefted and very light , it just does not make sense , i have fed 2:1 syrup today but what else to do ......what a first year

There is not loads of dead bees around the hive thinking they may have been robbed but they are quite a strong colony .....

 

[Russel]

Didn't have weetabix this morning ?

Robbing is always a possibility but if they've been active bringing in pollen they will also be consuming stores.

Russ

 

[prana vallabha]

they have been bringing in quite a bit of pollen ....

 

[oliver90owner]

Amount of brood will be the main stores reduction mechanism, unless from robbing. Some imported strains are susceptible to brooding heavily far too late into the autumn.

 

[Finman]

.
Look inside what is there

.

 

[prana vallabha]

surely its too cold to look inside ?

 

[Rosti]

If the colony is light then it is, why becomes accademic. Looking inside might tell you why but resolve the issue at this time of year. I would suggest a fondant block, routine external monitoring and it will be what it will be.

 

[John R]

I had exactly the same issue a month ago, managed to get a couple of weeks with 1:1 syrup down them and then they stopped taking it down, added fondant on top but not taking it down, think they have enough for the moment, and have left on the fondant in case they need it. I think if in doubt give them some standby reserves and I know mine won't get by without it this winter.

 

[richardbees]

imo It's a bit too late to be feeding syrup - or to be opening up. I'd suggest a kilo of fondant over the feed hole.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

imo It's a bit too late to be feeding syrup - or to be opening up. I'd suggest a kilo of fondant over the feed hole.

bees are still pretty active in our area (we're not that far apart) I know mine are going through stores like nobody's business. Put some fondant on and monitor - do you have insulation on top of the hive?

 

[protheroe]

fed my hives at the out apiaries through september then my van went in the garage for longer than expected,checked again a couple of weeks ago and all hives were very low on stores.i managed to get a few litres in before they stopped taking it but will definitely need a load of fondant this year.

 

[beeno]

Hi all,
A lot of cappings under one of my smaller colonies, so I have now got a slab of fondant on each one. Stores were on the light side and I am sure mine are still producing brood judging by the amount of pollen going in. That's it until OA now.

 

[oliver90owner]

judging by the amount of pollen going in

I don't use that a a sign of more than it is warm enough to forage, and pollen is available, at this time of the year.

 

[prana vallabha]

i have got kingspan on top of the hive ...

 

[Chris B]

Hi all,
A lot of cappings under one of my smaller colonies, so I have now got a slab of fondant on each one. Stores were on the light side and I am sure mine are still producing brood judging by the amount of pollen going in. That's it until OA now.

chewed up wax at the entrance usually indicates a furry friend sneaking in. Worth a quick check.

 

[Into the lions den]

imo It's a bit too late to be feeding syrup - or to be opening up. I'd suggest a kilo of fondant over the feed hole.

That very much depends on a load of circumstances, we are feeding bees syrup TODAY. One truck out with a tank to give 94 hives a bit more before winter.

However these are poly hives with poly feeders, and we KNOW it works.

Feedholes..................even when fondant feeding we never ever ever fed above a feedhole, even before we scrapped all the crown boards with the holes. That dictates where you feed. Cold weather and cluster moved away and you have big trouble. We ALWAYS fed fondant directly onto the topbars with the cut face spanning all the seams of bees so the seams of bees never need to move to get fondant, and 1Kg is a totallly inconsequential amount to offer which, if they are using it, will result in far too many disturbances as you replace it. For winter use we always gave a 3 to 4 kg block on a colony that either did not need much or was small, but as soon as you needed to span the whole boxe if the cluster was big we used two blocks of that size. (The 2.5Kg proprietry brand prepack fondant is OK too, if a just a whisker on the small side.) Then you can relax and go away leaving the bees undisturbed (very important in winter) for a long time. Consumption only accelerates later in winter anyway.

 

[blackcavebees]

" We ALWAYS fed fondant directly onto the topbars with the cut face spanning all the seams of bees so the seams of bees never need to move to get fondant,". ITLD

Maybe silly question but never used fondant before as loads ivy here and they did take down quite a lot of syrup, do you keep fondant in plastic wrapper (2.5kg pack) and just cut along one seam or completely remove from film when placing on top bars?

Thanks, Stephen

 

[Chris B]

You've got to leave fondant mostly wrapped to avoid it drying out too much.

My own method is to chop a 12.5kg block into quarters, wrapper and all, and then use clingfilm to cover the exposed faces, and then cut 2 slits in a cross into the clingfilm so the bees can get it.

 

[Into the lions den]

" We ALWAYS fed fondant directly onto the topbars with the cut face spanning all the seams of bees so the seams of bees never need to move to get fondant,". ITLD

Maybe silly question but never used fondant before as loads ivy here and they did take down quite a lot of syrup, do you keep fondant in plastic wrapper (2.5kg pack) and just cut along one seam or completely remove from film when placing on top bars?

Thanks, Stephen

You take the whole chunk and place it inside a poly bag so that none of the fondant is exposed to the air, seal it if possible.

Then, immediately prior to feeding you take a sharp knife and cut two slashes half and inch to an inch or so apart across one face of the block, and remove the polythene (or whatever plastic material) between the slashes so you have a stripe of exposed fondant. You then lay this, exposed face down across the seams of bees, directly onto the topbars. The rising warm damp air keeps the fondant moist as hygroscopic activity causes the exposed face of the fondant to absorb moisture. The bag keeps the warm moist air from rising out of the fondant, and thus it remains, throughout its time on the hive, soft and workable for the bees. The bees have direct access to the fondant at all times, and the need to make their way to a feedhole is removed.

Hope this helps.

Just spotted Chris B's response. Pretty well it really although we use HD poly bags instead as you are generally fairly sure there will be no leaks allowing the fondant to dry out. Whole quarter block goes in the bag.

 

[herefordshirehoney]

You take the whole chunk and place it inside a poly bag so that none of the fondant is exposed to the air, seal it if possible.

Then, immediately prior to feeding you take a sharp knife and cut two slashes half and inch to an inch or so apart across one face of the block, and remove the polythene (or whatever plastic material) between the slashes so you have a stripe of exposed fondant. You then lay this, exposed face down across the seams of bees, directly onto the topbars. The rising warm damp air keeps the fondant moist as hygroscopic activity causes the exposed face of the fondant to absorb moisture. The bag keeps the warm moist air from rising out of the fondant, and thus it remains, throughout its time on the hive, soft and workable for the bees. The bees have direct access to the fondant at all times, and the need to make their way to a feedhole is removed.

Hope this helps.

Just spotted Chris B's response. Pretty well it really although we use HD poly bags instead as you are generally fairly sure there will be no leaks allowing the fondant to dry out. Whole quarter block goes in the bag.

You do realise you've totally made me think yet again on my emergency feeding .

You mention HD poly bags - you mean the ones couriers use? I brought some of the Fondabee 2.5kg premade stuff im assuming from what you've said im better putting 5kg on around xmas time after doing oxalic acid treatment. (Although I had ~8 langstroth frames of food on both hives they didn't weigh loads but enough to get to xmas id say as same hives as you).