- Joined
- Sep 4, 2019
- Messages
- 344
- Reaction score
- 310
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
- Hive Type
- Langstroth
I would like to share some information about discoveries I have made, concerning the feeding of sugar to bees.
There have been many discussions on what might be the best way to feed the bees - whether we should supply syrup, fondant, or granular sugar. Each method has advantages and disadvantages, and the method chosen by a beekeeper may well depend on their particular circumstances.
For example, sugar syrup can be fed at different concentrations, and may be taken well by the bees when the weather is warm. When the temperatures are low, the bees are likely to ignore the syrup; the syrup may ferment or go mouldy and become unsuitable for use by the bees.
Fondant seems to be preferred by many beekeepers, especially during the coldest times, because it can be placed directly above the honey frames, where it can be easily accessed by the bees. However much more effort is required to make fondant, compared to making syrup. If fondant is purchased, the cost is greater than the equivalent amount of sugar – either the dollar cost of manufactured fondant, or the “time cost” to beekeepers who make their own fondant.
Granular dry sugar is sometimes carried out of the hive by bees, if they consider it to be foreign material.
Having considered these various options, I opted for feeding syrup to my bees several months ago during our autumn. I have experienced the bees feeding eagerly on syrup, and also them ignoring it when the weather got cooler, and the syrup went mouldy and had to be discarded. This is not the “win-win” situation I would have liked, but more like a “lose-lose” situation, because the bees did not get the benefit from the syrup, and I had to bear the cost of wasted sugar syrup.
After thinking about what alternative approach I could use, I decided to try an experiment with granular sugar, which could be fed to the bees directly above the honey frames. First of all, I made an eke which could be placed onto the top hive box, directly under the crown board, so that I would have about 40mm of space between the top of the frames and the underside of the crown board. I had already made crown boards with clear Perspex acrylic viewing panels, rather than plywood panels. These have given me enjoyable opportunities to observe the bees in their hives. I have been able to watch them, regardless of the weather, because I have not had to remove the clear crown boards.
I made some shallow plastic trays, about 30mm high, cut from the sides of empty milk bottles. Our milk-bottles are made from polyethylene plastic, and I was able to cut flat bottomed trays from the sides of 3-litre bottles. My Perspex crown boards have holes of about 40mm diameter in the centre, and I have been able to replenish sugar by removing the 40mm plug which seals the hole in the crown board. The flat tray was placed directly onto the frames, under the hole in the crown board. I have used a funnel to be able to easily pour dry sugar into the flat plastic tray, and to spread the sugar as much as necessary in the tray, without needing to remove the crown board in cold weather. To help make the sugar more attractive to the bees, I wet it with a small quantity of water to which I had added a drop of anise oil. I had found, during my reading, that anise oil scent is very attractive to bees, and this is confirmed by my experience. I used enough of this scented water to thoroughly moisten the sugar in the tray. I have observed the bees actively feeding on the sugar I have provided, and I have not found any evidence of them removing or discarding grains of sugar.
Part of the reason given for feeding fondant rather than syrup, in cold weather, is that the bees do not like to go to a cold location in the hive to get their ”sugar hit”. Fondant and protein patties are usually placed directly onto the honey frames so that they are easily accessible to the bees. It is for the same reason that I have placed the sugar tray directly onto the frames.
There is another factor that someone may mention, about the condensation which can form under a crown board. Various methods have been devised to absorb or dissipate condensation in a hive. At the onset of our winter, a couple of months ago, I became rather concerned about the large amounts of condensation which formed on the underside of my clear plastic crown boards. In response, I have placed empty hive boxes above the crown boards on my hives, and have installed thick polystyrene foam insulation boards (100mm thick) directly above the crown boards. This has enabled the bees to keep their crown board warm, and completely free of condensation. It also means that the bees are quite contented to visit the sugar tray in the warmth of the hive, even though the temperatures outside of the hive are much lower. Condensation still occurs on the sides of the hive boxes, inside of the hive, and this can be a useful source of drinking water for the bees. I find it reassuring that the upper surface of the crown board is warm to my touch when I go to observe or check on the bees.
All in all I think that this method of feeding sugar has much to commend it:
. Clear crown boards enable easy observation of the bees, and their sugar supply.
. Sugar can be replenished without exposing bees to the outside atmosphere in cold weather.
. Sugar can be applied directly, without having to use time to mix syrup, or make fondant.
. Granular sugar is less expensive than fondant, but gives the same food value to bees.
. Heavily insulated crown boards have been completely free of condensation.
There have been many discussions on what might be the best way to feed the bees - whether we should supply syrup, fondant, or granular sugar. Each method has advantages and disadvantages, and the method chosen by a beekeeper may well depend on their particular circumstances.
For example, sugar syrup can be fed at different concentrations, and may be taken well by the bees when the weather is warm. When the temperatures are low, the bees are likely to ignore the syrup; the syrup may ferment or go mouldy and become unsuitable for use by the bees.
Fondant seems to be preferred by many beekeepers, especially during the coldest times, because it can be placed directly above the honey frames, where it can be easily accessed by the bees. However much more effort is required to make fondant, compared to making syrup. If fondant is purchased, the cost is greater than the equivalent amount of sugar – either the dollar cost of manufactured fondant, or the “time cost” to beekeepers who make their own fondant.
Granular dry sugar is sometimes carried out of the hive by bees, if they consider it to be foreign material.
Having considered these various options, I opted for feeding syrup to my bees several months ago during our autumn. I have experienced the bees feeding eagerly on syrup, and also them ignoring it when the weather got cooler, and the syrup went mouldy and had to be discarded. This is not the “win-win” situation I would have liked, but more like a “lose-lose” situation, because the bees did not get the benefit from the syrup, and I had to bear the cost of wasted sugar syrup.
After thinking about what alternative approach I could use, I decided to try an experiment with granular sugar, which could be fed to the bees directly above the honey frames. First of all, I made an eke which could be placed onto the top hive box, directly under the crown board, so that I would have about 40mm of space between the top of the frames and the underside of the crown board. I had already made crown boards with clear Perspex acrylic viewing panels, rather than plywood panels. These have given me enjoyable opportunities to observe the bees in their hives. I have been able to watch them, regardless of the weather, because I have not had to remove the clear crown boards.
I made some shallow plastic trays, about 30mm high, cut from the sides of empty milk bottles. Our milk-bottles are made from polyethylene plastic, and I was able to cut flat bottomed trays from the sides of 3-litre bottles. My Perspex crown boards have holes of about 40mm diameter in the centre, and I have been able to replenish sugar by removing the 40mm plug which seals the hole in the crown board. The flat tray was placed directly onto the frames, under the hole in the crown board. I have used a funnel to be able to easily pour dry sugar into the flat plastic tray, and to spread the sugar as much as necessary in the tray, without needing to remove the crown board in cold weather. To help make the sugar more attractive to the bees, I wet it with a small quantity of water to which I had added a drop of anise oil. I had found, during my reading, that anise oil scent is very attractive to bees, and this is confirmed by my experience. I used enough of this scented water to thoroughly moisten the sugar in the tray. I have observed the bees actively feeding on the sugar I have provided, and I have not found any evidence of them removing or discarding grains of sugar.
Part of the reason given for feeding fondant rather than syrup, in cold weather, is that the bees do not like to go to a cold location in the hive to get their ”sugar hit”. Fondant and protein patties are usually placed directly onto the honey frames so that they are easily accessible to the bees. It is for the same reason that I have placed the sugar tray directly onto the frames.
There is another factor that someone may mention, about the condensation which can form under a crown board. Various methods have been devised to absorb or dissipate condensation in a hive. At the onset of our winter, a couple of months ago, I became rather concerned about the large amounts of condensation which formed on the underside of my clear plastic crown boards. In response, I have placed empty hive boxes above the crown boards on my hives, and have installed thick polystyrene foam insulation boards (100mm thick) directly above the crown boards. This has enabled the bees to keep their crown board warm, and completely free of condensation. It also means that the bees are quite contented to visit the sugar tray in the warmth of the hive, even though the temperatures outside of the hive are much lower. Condensation still occurs on the sides of the hive boxes, inside of the hive, and this can be a useful source of drinking water for the bees. I find it reassuring that the upper surface of the crown board is warm to my touch when I go to observe or check on the bees.
All in all I think that this method of feeding sugar has much to commend it:
. Clear crown boards enable easy observation of the bees, and their sugar supply.
. Sugar can be replenished without exposing bees to the outside atmosphere in cold weather.
. Sugar can be applied directly, without having to use time to mix syrup, or make fondant.
. Granular sugar is less expensive than fondant, but gives the same food value to bees.
. Heavily insulated crown boards have been completely free of condensation.
