Fondant v syrup

[ericbeaumont]

putting on say 5kg and leaving them to it ... does it work

Yes.

I invert an Abelo Ashforth poly box feeder over the block and leave them to it; can be done late summer or early spring. Double brood colonies need feeding rarely, though last winter I misjudged the strength of one DBB and they starved.

http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/Fondant Peter Edwards.pdf

 

[Cuckmere couple]

just found it for £16 per box from local baker which is better than anything online so far

 

[Cuckmere couple]

£14,,,,coming down £2 every 3 hours at this rate

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

£14,,,,coming down £2 every 3 hours at this rate

if I recall from last year, that was about the going rate for wholesale fondant.

 

[SWEET]

Fondant for years here (quick/simple) but don't be too keen, around these parts late October/Nov and only if the hives are not rammed with ivy.

 

[TonyH100]

£14,,,,coming down £2 every 3 hours at this rate

Hi Where's that from mate?

 

[Penninetrader]

I let my girls decide, if they take it down quickly they get more if not I change it, strength that is, then when they take non it is fondant. My syrup has a dash of apple cider vinegar, lemon grass oil, vitamin C. Precise proportions, no.

 

[Cuckmere couple]

Hi Where's that from mate?

its from a distributor local to me who only delivers pallets of 80x12.5 but will supply me fewer as i can turn up to collect

 

[madasafish]

I overwinter mini nucs on fondant alone.. If a small colony can do it without coloured fondant , so can a big one..
Don't feed small nucs with liquid feed now due to risks of robbing.. 200 bees cannot defend well against 250+ wasps Even bigger colonies can succumb.
Underfloor entrances help.

And uncoloured fondant rolls out flat easily : sticky coloured fondant does not.
Winter feeding on top bars is required when it is very cold. Bees refuse to go into side feeders when it is -9C at night and -2C in daytime for a fortnight as we saw last November..

 

[Chris Hancock]

I agree- I gave up using syrup in small units because ants, as well as wasps can invade and kill larvae, too.

 

[madasafish]

I agree- I gave up using syrup in small units because ants, as well as wasps can invade and kill larvae, too.

I have ants in almost all my feeders but don't observe them eating larvae - but then I don't do many inspections after June so WDIK?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

never had issues with ants in the hives to be honest, they have always coexisted happily with the bees, but I can imagine they may be a bit of an issue at times in apideas and the like.

 

[rolande]

I agree- I gave up using syrup in small units because ants, as well as wasps can invade and kill larvae, too.

In my experience wasps and ants find fondant as easily as they find syrup in mating nucs, even then, I've not noticed them wasting time killing larvae, if the feeder is at least part full *that's* where the bulk of the wasps will be when you take the lid off.

 

[Chris Hancock]

Yes, they are happy with the syrup, until it runs out, in those little units. Then they can cause devastation, like their big cousins.

 

[rolande]

Yes, they are happy with the syrup, until it runs out, in those little units. Then they can cause devastation, like their big cousins.

But as I say, they find fondant as easily. I'm going to suggest that it's possibly the processing of it by the bees that is the attractant rather than the actual feed itself, but I don't know for sure.

Mating nucs which are bolstered by the addition of sealed feed in the comb don't suffer the same attention.

EDIT: with regards to the 'devastation' are you sure you're not seeing bee cannibalisation as a result of the stores being stripped out?

 

[Chris Hancock]

Previously, wasps (the small ones) get in there, and in vast numbers, number of bees goes down with everything else. If the queen and a few bees are left, they have to be rehoused away from that hive. Wasps always find the weakest hive! Hopefully, this year, the two entrance blocks with entrances just big enough for a drone to squeeze through, have sorted that out. Other bought anti-wasp entrances have failed in the past. No problem with the very prolific hives though!

 

[fian]

If the majority of users complain about adulterated honey, due to unfair competition, do you think it is advisable to feed your bees with more or less thick/solid syrups?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

do you think it is advisable to feed your bees with more or less thick/solid syrups?

explain? how does feeding fondant or heavy syrup in the winter adulterate honey? why would feeding 1:1 make any difference?
An incompetent or unknowing beekeeper may feed with supers on then extract and adulterate the honey. But it matters not whether they use fondant, heavy or light syrup

 

[fian]

explain? how does feeding fondant or heavy syrup in the winter adulterate honey? why would feeding 1:1 make any difference?
An incompetent or unknowing beekeeper may feed with supers on then extract and adulterate the honey. But it matters not whether they use fondant, heavy or light syrup

I think you have not understood the irony in my statement.
The only good foods for wintering are pollen and honey, so the first handling should be aimed at leaving supplies of both.
He who adulterates his honey is no better a speculator than he who offers his bees fraudulent food (things that are neither honey nor pollen) just to earn a few more pounds.
My harvest has been ready since the end of July so there is still room for them to get their own honey for wintering.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Well I must congratulate you, once again you have excelled yourself in speaking a load of absolute slanderous rubbish