bees not taking syrup

[jezd]

The other option is that your box is absolutely full to bursting with stores, so there is no room for the feed to be stored...


Ben P

This is why I like fondant feeds, although we do syrup as well (messy stuff), once a box is full they simply stop taking fondant - quick lift to see if the hive needs a crane to move.

I would agree with Chris re Q status, if they are lacking queen they seem lost and tend not to take stores down.

I am brutal with any hive that is odds on queenless now (there are the usual signals too), on a warm day take queenless bees to another apiary and shake bees in front of a weak colony to boost bees.

 

[GregoryRobbins]

On inspection there is still no obvious reason why just one hive isn't taking the syrup.The colony is apparently disease free and active. The feed hole is directly over the brood, there is space, though it might entail wax production, access is clear and they are taking in pollen and nectar. I guess they will get around to it when they can't get out to forrage.

The bees in this hive have been chugging down the 2:1 thymolated syrrup today. No obvious changes in circumstances although cooler today.

 

[Lesley Hoppy]

Is my syrup too thick?

I made up a load of 2:1 syrup the other day - 3kg of white cane sugar to 1.5litres of water - and filled my Ashforth feeder. A week later and they have hardly touched it - and it is crystallising. I cant just remove it because there are many bees in the perspex -covered area at the side ....

In contrast, I put a plastic contact feeder on my other hive - and have filled that 3 times.... ( the only difference is that for some reason I measured out that syrup using the imperial measures - ie. 4pints water to 8lbs sugar)

Have I done something wrong? Does the metric method equate to the 2:1 proportions? Or is that syrup too thick to seep through the thin slots of the feeder? Please can someone advise....? I hate to think that the bees are desparately trying to get to the syrup and cant get it!

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

I made up a load of 2:1 syrup the other day - 3kg of white cane sugar to 1.5litres of water - and filled my Ashforth feeder. A week later and they have hardly touched it - and it is crystallising. I cant just remove it because there are many bees in the perspex -covered area at the side ....

In contrast, I put a plastic contact feeder on my other hive - and have filled that 3 times.... ( the only difference is that for some reason I measured out that syrup using the imperial measures - ie. 4pints water to 8lbs sugar)

Have I done something wrong? Does the metric method equate to the 2:1 proportions? Or is that syrup too thick to seep through the thin slots of the feeder? Please can someone advise....? I hate to think that the bees are desparately trying to get to the syrup and cant get it!

2:1 metric is indeed quite a bit thicker than the 2:1 imperial version, and does tend to crystallize near the end - it doesnt stop it flowing through the slots in the feeder though and wont stop them using it. I'd look elsewhere for an explanation (already full?)

 

[Luminos]

I made up a load of 2:1 syrup the other day - 3kg of white cane sugar to 1.5litres of water - and filled my Ashforth feeder. A week later and they have hardly touched it - and it is crystallising. I cant just remove it because there are many bees in the perspex -covered area at the side ....

In contrast, I put a plastic contact feeder on my other hive - and have filled that 3 times.... ( the only difference is that for some reason I measured out that syrup using the imperial measures - ie. 4pints water to 8lbs sugar)

Have I done something wrong? Does the metric method equate to the 2:1 proportions? Or is that syrup too thick to seep through the thin slots of the feeder? Please can someone advise....? I hate to think that the bees are desparately trying to get to the syrup and cant get it!

Hi Lesley,
I too have an Ashforth feeder on a WBC, and have been using the metric 2:1 and have had no problems with the bees taking the feed (15kg sugar in 3 days). The mix was indeed very gloopy.

Would it be possible to swap the feeders on your hives, i.e, put the Ashforth on the hive which has the plastic feeder and vice versa, and see if the other bees can't/won't feed from the Ashforth - or perhaps this isn't a good idea (risk of transferring disease).
It's my first season, so someone more experienced will know if this suggestion is a no-no, I'm sure.

 

[rae]

I have the same problem with one of mine. It is a nuc that we assembled with a new (bought in) queen. We did three of them. Two are are very heavy, have taken down loads of syrup, and look in good shape. The other is flying and foraging well, has taken hardly any syrup, and is light. They are certainly Q+, I inspected them yesterday (nice and sunny, no wind) and saw her maj. They have a small amount of brood, with visible larvae (only a very quick inspection, so didn't check for eggs...).

I have super insulated the hive, and will apply fondant throughout the winter. Hopefully they'll make it.

 

[Vergilius]

I now feed 2:1.2 (so 1 kg to 600 ml) because I find that the sugar tends to crystallize on 2:1. This means that the bees cannot take the syrup through the crystal "layer".

Ben P

 

[darren64]

I took the roof off the hive this evening and the light shining down the centre hole in the feeder enticed a few up,so I left it five minutes and when I looked again the top of the feeder was full of bees all feeding,so I put the roof back on and left them to it.

 

[Lesley Hoppy]

Ashforth feeder bunged up?

Hi Lesley,
I too have an Ashforth feeder on a WBC, and have been using the metric 2:1 and have had no problems with the bees taking the feed (15kg sugar in 3 days). The mix was indeed very gloopy.

Would it be possible to swap the feeders on your hives, i.e, put the Ashforth on the hive which has the plastic feeder and vice versa, and see if the other bees can't/won't feed from the Ashforth - or perhaps this isn't a good idea (risk of transferring disease).
It's my first season, so someone more experienced will know if this suggestion is a no-no, I'm sure.

Thank you all for your prompt replies - still not sure what to do but its good to have support! - Unfortunately I cant swap feeders because I am one of these daft newcomers who has one WBC and one National - so the Ashforth only fits the WBC ...!

I am now wondering whether the crystalising solution has 'bunged up' the wooden slots so the poor bees can't access the solution - any other ideas anyone?

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

If you are quick you can take the wooden bit out to check without too much loss of life, or just poke something narrow through the slots to verify things are still flowing

 

[Lesley Hoppy]

If you are quick you can take the wooden bit out to check without too much loss of life, or just poke something narrow through the slots to verify things are still flowing

Great idea - Merci Monsieur!

 

[banwee40]

Bees not taking down syrup.

Hi I made some homemade feeders of the bucket type and couldn't understand why some hives had taken down the syrup and some hadn't, on closer inspection when I removed the lids some of the sugar had crystalized over the holes I had made for the bees to take the syrup through. this only happened to a couple but it may be worth a look. I must not have mixed the syrup well enough. I have cured that problem with a plaster mixer from a well known foreign super market works a treat and cheap. Mixed 60 kilos of sugar in no time. Hope this may help.

 

[oliver90owner]

That plaster mixer, particularly if it is the variable two speed version, is good for soft setting honey in larger settling tanks. Just needs a stainless steel paddle fitting.

 

[banwee40]

Hi yes has 2 speed settings and has variable speed settings for each gear. will have to try and find a stainless steel paddle as have around about 210lbs of honey to cream. once I sort my warming cabinet out.