Feeding (Yawn ) Yes I Know

[lorrick]

Hi Their
I have been feeding my 2 hives for a few weeks now and noticed last night 6 o'clock'ish (10th) That there where only a few bees under the the Plastic upturned see through plastic bowl thingy that sits in the syrup (large feeder) in both hives. They where drinking the moisture off the top of the cover and had there tongues out as in starving ? and not taking the syrup anymore. The last few weeks I could hardly keep up with the amount they where taking.
1, Is this because it has turned cold.
2, Is it because thy have filled up there stores and had enough.
3, I have been giving them light syrup and it should be heavy or
anything else ?.
Up to Sunday they have been out in great numbers in the warm weather returning with pollen. There is Brood and Grubs in the hives. They are on a Brood and a Half. Any help appreciated.
Regards

Richard

 

[enrico]

A) you should be feeding syrup based on 2 parts sugar to 1 part water at this time f the year.
B) they will take it if they need it. You need to 'heft' or weigh the hive to see if they are ... Full!
E

 

[Tom Bick]

How much would you say you have fed over the last few weeks.

 

[lorrick]

Hi Tom

I would say about 15 kgs ?

 

[Tom Bick]

Well its possible for now they have had enough.

 

[lorrick]

Thanks Tom

 

[richardbees]

......that's over 30 lbs of sugar so I imagine they're full.

It's only early September and the weather's still mild so why not open up and have a look?

(also) Richard

 

[lorrick]

Hi Richard
It has only started to get warm again today after 4 days of cold wet weather, I will have a look but the only other problem is hundreds of Wasps, I have managed to track down and get rid of two Wasp Nests, but there must be a couple more somewhere and I can not find them, and every time I open the hive I just get surrounded with more wasps. I have 4 wasp traps per hive and empty them daily as they are full, the little bees are doing there best to beat them off, and I have restricted the entrance as much as I dare. So I have been trying to avoid opening up again, but I suppose I will have to.
Thanks

Richard

 

[richardbees]

If you are worried about the wasps when you open the brood box:

Cut a piece of heavy cloth (eg denim) into 2ft x 2ft square.
When you remove the crownboard immediately lay the cloth on top of the frames.
Gradually slide it across to expose and remove the dummy board.... then the first frame...
..after you inspect and replace each frame there will be more than enough bees on top to deter wasps.

take my word for it, this works!

 

[Tom Bick]

Hi Richard
It has only started to get warm again today after 4 days of cold wet weather, I will have a look but the only other problem is hundreds of Wasps, I have managed to track down and get rid of two Wasp Nests, but there must be a couple more somewhere and I can not find them, and every time I open the hive I just get surrounded with more wasps. I have 4 wasp traps per hive and empty them daily as they are full, the little bees are doing there best to beat them off, and I have restricted the entrance as much as I dare. So I have been trying to avoid opening up again, but I suppose I will have to.
Thanks

Richard

No need to look inside the hive just to assess stores simply heft the hive.

What weight is good?

Did you take any supers off this year when full they are heavy and approx 23lb’s of stores. Given the syrup you have fed, your hive should be well over the weight of a full super and will be heavy.

The wasps are a problem and sounds not an ideal situation.

 

[Edward.21]

A) you should be feeding syrup based on 2 parts sugar to 1 part water at this time f the year.
B) they will take it if they need it. You need to 'heft' or weigh the hive to see if they are ... Full!
E

i may be wrong but i think the recipe for feed is 1pint of water to 2lbs of sugar, not 1 part water to 2 parts sugar. there is an article in the august BBKA news p5 where they explain the measures and "merticate" it as well.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

i may be wrong but i think the recipe for feed is 1pint of water to 2lbs of sugar, not 1 part water to 2 parts sugar.

Same difference really - it's not an exact science and the bees don't seem to mind.

(another cue for Finman to execute his comeback! )

 

[lorrick]

Thanks for the cloth idea, I will have to wait for the weather to improve as it looks like a wet one tomorrow. I had about 30 lbs of honey off the hive, which wasn't bad as I only got them in May. I had to make an A/S out of it and so have two hives out of the one, and I am also trying to let them keep a lot of there honey, as well as feeding to really get started next year.
As an after thingy, got stung by a wasp yesterday, and I don't know if its me but it doesn't seem to be as bad as a bee sting. I think I remember being stung when I was small and it hurt like a whotzit, must be me getting older

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Same difference really - it's not an exact science and the bees don't seem to mind.

(another cue for Finman to execute his comeback! )

I think in practice 2kg:1l and 2kg:1.25l, which is the difference, are either side of saturation point at the relevant temperatures so one throws crystals and the other doesn't.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

...which doesn't make a difference in many situations but can matter.

 

[user 6228]

Same difference really - it's not an exact science and the bees don't seem to mind.

(another cue for Finman to execute his comeback! )

Anything between 1Kg to 4 litres and solid sugar seems to go down

 

[richardbees]

TryingToLetThemBee

very confident post for a new London Beekeeper ..... why not post using your original username like the rest of us?

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

TryingToLetThemBee

very confident post for a new London Beekeeper ..... why not post using your original username like the rest of us?

Err: I did.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

And "confident"? Only that I know nothing about bees. But all you could EVER want to know about syrup and crystals is here on this forum.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Only that I know nothing about bees. But all you could EVER want to know about syrup and crystals is here on this forum.

Seems like an ideal drinking partner for Finman!