feeding?? supering??

[s&n]

hi all. Need to feed cos of this weater and break in forage, but will the girls store it in the drawn supers they have on?? Ialso have a hive bursting with bees.They are in the super they have, but not doing anything with it! is ok to put another on and feed?

 

[aberreef]

hi all. Need to feed cos of this weater and break in forage, but will the girls store it in the drawn supers they have on?? Ialso have a hive bursting with bees.They are in the super they have, but not doing anything with it! is ok to put another on and feed?

They will store the syrup, how much stores have they got in the brood box atm?

With the other hive, if they aren't bringing in much nectar they won't be able to draw the comb. You could put half the drawn comb into the undrawn super and feed both hives with light syrup (1:1). That way they'll draw the foundation rather than storing all the syrup.

Just a thought, no doubt there'll be more suggestions soon

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

My plan in a similar situation is to feed fondant or pollen sub on the brood frames. Reasoning is that they are less likely to store it in frames, but it will keep them going until a flow starts.

Would appreciate anyone pointing out any glaring flaws to this plan!

 

[s&n]

thanks for replies. There are stores in the brood boxes but I have had no full inspectons for over a week or so. Temps and unpredictable showers here mean only quick looks to see if Q is doing her job.
The big hive has drones flying, so after last year(1st year,)I'm trying to stay well ahead.
I'm probably panicing because of the awful weather. Ill try mixing the drawn with foundation in the suppers and feed( Ambrosia syrup) little and often so they draw and don't store upstairs. Am I on the right track??

 

[enrico]

There seems to be a thing about feeding this year... I understand why, but a hive can live on a brood box full of food all winter so a frame or two of food is ample to keep them going for several weeks at this time of the year. They regulate themselves to cope with numbers and stores. I also understand that this can result in deaths of bees and a smaller colony but I would suggest that the colony will rarely die off completely at this time of the year. Don't be too keen to keep opening hives if you think they probably have enough food. Hefting is safer.
IMHO anyway!

 

[Dave /Oscroft]

light syrup

Some of my colonies are in the same position with needing feeding and space both at the same time. My thoughts are put a super or two if needed and feed with light syrup ive already lost one colony due to starvation, and I had been feeding it up untill a fortnight ago and they took the lot and the next time I looked they were all dead at the bottom of the hive and some heads down in all the available cells , all very sad, gutted. If only I had looked earlier it would have been ok. A lesson learnt the hard way.I wont make it again.

Dave W

 

[melias]

I'm in a similar predicament. Two supered hives. No honey in the supers and uncertain about the amount of stores in the brood boxes. Too cold to inspect.

Should I remove supers and feed, despite the disruption that would cause? Or let them soldier on?

 

[Polyanwood]

I wonder whether people are putting on supers too early? Are people waiting until there are 7 frames of brood and the rest of the box has bees on all the frames or taking a bolder approach and supering early?

If the apiary is very far from home or the bees seem overcrowded I might put on 2 supers at the same time, but if they aren't even going in the supers, nevermind storing anything in them, it makes me wonder if this was too much too soon? The risk with too much too soon is that if the weather turns bad, they have a much bigger area to keep warm and they will use up stores in the box at a quicker rate, increasing the risk of starvation.

Can you heft the box to see how heavy it is to give you an idea of whether it is light or whether it still has stores in it?

 

[oliver90owner]

This weather is causing all sorts of problems, that is for sure. My bees are suffering the weather, too.

If I were in the predicament of needing bee space (through lots of brood emerging) and no stores gain, I would be giving them a shallow under the brood box if anything at all.

I would feed sufficient to keep them going, of course. Inspecting to see that the queen is 'doing her job' is inappropriate for many at this present time. Ensuring enough stores until the next inspection is the only real priority for most. Get your priorities right.

If she lays in the nadired shallow, just tough. It can be cleared of brood in three weeks and if some cannot accept brood in a super, then that wax can be scrapped (small price to pay to avoid starvation, for those).

There needs to be some 'out of the box' thinking by some. Not all solutions will be the same - a super of drawn comb is better than foundation and could be put over, but I would consider nadiring with foundation, if I were 'in that boat'.

Fortunately I am not - I still have enough proper honey stores to distribute around them - but that is a finite resource and the weather forecast is not good, so I may be joining the majority(?) shortly.

RAB

 

[Swarm]

There seems to be a thing about feeding this year... I understand why, but a hive can live on a brood box full of food all winter so a frame or two of food is ample to keep them going for several weeks at this time of the year. They regulate themselves to cope with numbers and stores. I also understand that this can result in deaths of bees and a smaller colony but I would suggest that the colony will rarely die off completely at this time of the year. Don't be too keen to keep opening hives if you think they probably have enough food. Hefting is safer.
IMHO anyway!

 

[Beeline]

My plan in a similar situation is to feed fondant or pollen sub on the brood frames. Reasoning is that they are less likely to store it in frames, but it will keep them going until a flow starts.

Would appreciate anyone pointing out any glaring flaws to this plan!

MA - I think you're spot on. I've also got some 1kg Neopoll bags which I'm going to slap on this weekend once they've eaten their small slab of fondant. I've been checking the inspection board this week and last (kept in to maintain warmth) and there is little evidence of pollen being brought it and i know they are very low on stores.

Any more of this weather and there is going to be a dramatic drop in her laying rate. Think something like Neopoll will help support her increase in laying.

 

[MuswellMetro]

I have put on some damage used comb to give the expected nurse bees something to do and not think about swarm cell building, they dont draw foundation well in these condition but will repair comb

long range weather forecast i have is dire for the east, cold etc, though the west is normal

"headlines from their report

May 2012 Headline summary & essential weather type development.

The coldest or near coldest May for 100 years in Central and East parts with a record run of bitter Northerly winds. Snow at times especially on high ground in NE / East. Spring put in reverse.

*Confidence of E / SE England mean temps: Coldest in 100yrs 80%; In 5 coldest in 100yrs 90%


dont panic yet, it is a only a trend weather forecast and lol they arent always right

 

[Erichalfbee]

Is it OK to make syrup up with neopoll?
I've got some to use up and have rapid feeders on both hives, feeding syrup.

 

[s&n]

Thanks everyone. I've hefted the hives and double checked records. All are heavy, even my small one . As usual, Ive gotten all a teasy worrying about whats best, and not being able to physically read the bees and the yucky weather forecast is gotten make things a bit tricky. Again,, Thanks

 

[richardbees]

I'm feeding left-over fondant dissolved 1:1 in hot water.

If this goes on much longer I'm taking them down to Lambeth Town Hall to apply for Housing Benefit!

 

[simonwig]

Haven't been able to inspect for three weeks, just too damn cold. Have started giving 1:1 at least until we can have a look. Three weeks ago they were down to two frames of stores, and I guess they're getting cabin fever, haven't really seen them since (except through clear crown, they are still alive thankfully) Where's that bright yellow thing in the sky gone...................

Simon

 

[Eyeman]

Haven't been able to inspect for three weeks

Are you sure they are still there? Mine are going berserk for several hours whenever there is a break in the rain. I'm more concerned about swarming. The conkers are just starting to flower so plenty of nectar around.

 

[simonwig]

Are you sure they are still there?

Yes, clear crown board, but they're real sluggish and contracting, hence the feed.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

I have put on some damage used comb to give the expected nurse bees something to do and not think about swarm cell building, they dont draw foundation well in these condition but will repair comb

long range weather forecast i have is dire for the east, cold etc, though the west is normal

"headlines from their report

May 2012 Headline summary & essential weather type development.

The coldest or near coldest May for 100 years in Central and East parts with a record run of bitter Northerly winds. Snow at times especially on high ground in NE / East. Spring put in reverse.

*Confidence of E / SE England mean temps: Coldest in 100yrs 80%; In 5 coldest in 100yrs 90%


dont panic yet, it is a only a trend weather forecast and lol they arent always right

Blimey MM - thats really cheered me up!

 

[Erichalfbee]

NW? Please