Fondant v Sugar Syrup

[stoneleighhouse]

What is the advantage of using fondant this time of year rather than feeding sugar syrup?

 

[Arfermo]

Depends on the state of the colony and how much honey stores they have; also whether there is already a super on top as that is where they might put the fondant instead of eating it.

 

[susbees]

Fondant is used as energy for the bees and doesn't bung up the brood nest.

Fondant is taken when the chill in a syrup feeder makes it unacceptable to bees.

Syrup is good when there's comb to draw - in small amounts (weak syrup 1:1)

Syrup is good for replacing extracted honey in the autumn (strong syrup 2:1)

Both are used in small amounts when breeding queens, making nucs etc.

 

[Winker]

My bees eat the fondant from where it is (above the crown board) and don't store it in the comb, so it keeps the space in the brood box for the laying queen. The down side to fondant in my opinion is that the bees ignore the honey they have stored and eat the fondant first, thus not freeing up space for the queen to lay.

So I would say fondant is good when there is little food in the hive and plenty room for the queen to lay.

Syrup will be stored in the comb if you give them too much. The bees wont just leave it up top like the do with the fondant. But if there are enough bees to eat what you feed 1:1 then they will draw comb much faster if comb is needing to be drawn.

 

[Hivemaker.]

At this time of year syrup can be fed if needed as can fondant,also at this time of year they are much more likely to take the fondant down and store it, the same as they do with syrup. Fondant used as autumn feed is also taken down and stored the same as a syrup feed is.

 

[Finman]

.
If the hive is short of food, first I take food frame from another hiver.
Seconly I pour 1:2 syrup direct into combs.

 

[SixFooter]

In Winter, I put fondant on top of the frames above the cluster in an eke if I think there is any possibility of the bees being short of food. I put the crown board over the eke then the roof (then a flag) The bees dont seem to take the fondant down, they just use it if they need it. I'm guessing that they see it as within the hive, so stored already? When temps get above 14 deg, I'll take the fondant off and if an inspection suggests the bees are short of food, I'll feed 1:1 syrup.

 

[Winker]

At this time of year syrup can be fed if needed as can fondant,also at this time of year they are much more likely to take the fondant down and store it, the same as they do with syrup. Fondant used as autumn feed is also taken down and stored the same as a syrup feed is.

I thought the same, untill i opend mine and seen they were eating it in situ ignoring their own stores and not taking any down.

 

[Hivemaker.]

I thought the same, untill i opend mine and seen they were eating it in situ ignoring their own stores and not taking any down.

My nucs are currently taking it down and storing it as liquid,just the same as they do in autumn,but if the weather is cold they just consume it with very little being stored. If your bees have already got stores then perhaps they have nowhere to put it....why are you feeding them.

 

[Winker]

My nucs are currently taking it down and storing it as liquid,just the same as they do in autumn,but if the weather is cold they just consume it with very little being stored. If your bees have already got stores then perhaps they have nowhere to put it....why are you feeding them.

im not i took my fondant off last week, there was brooding space, but there was too much stores for this time of year. I want them to eat there stores now to free up space. Then i had a nuc with 0 stores but just eating the fondant in situ. I took the fondant from them too and gave them syrup. But the nuc was sitting on 4 frames of brood last week (poly nuc). Tomorrow im going to put them in a poly national me thinks.

 

[Hivemaker.]

There is some more info on fondant feeding here...........

http://www.stratford-upon-avon.freeserve.co.uk/PENotes/Fondant.htm

 

[Rosti]

All of the above and, as alluded to, temperature. Fondant can be left and is accessible when cold. Also very useful (given the quantities you ccan leave in situ) when you are not inspecting stores with any frequency aka winter. Can also be removed, wrapped and put back to stock.