How much is too much?

[New Bee 2]

I have been feeding my bees since the end Aug with commercial syrup ex ****** and I have 2 hives that have taken 30L and 28L respectively already. Now I'm beginning to wonder whether I should stop feeding them or whether to carry on until they stop taking it down. Would appreciate your thoughts ... my husband reckons I'll make them too fat to fly

 

[the beehive lodge]

Have you removed your supers now, if so are you on double brood chambers
why i ask is if your super are on they will keep going filling if you are on double brood they will be storing for winter as the queen slows down they will fill with necter retricking her for from ticking over with brood hope that makes sense

 

[itma]

The 14x12 is a big hive.
It holds LOTS of winter stores.

Aim for about 20kg of stores to expect to last the winter.
A 14x12 will hold more than that!

And Ivy is a favourite of the bees - and much cheaper than syrup!

Timings will depend on your location - altitude is as important as latitude! But, down south, near the seaside, I am not aiming at an October 1 lockdown. Hopefully more like November 1 ...

/ so I'm only feeding a July swarm at this point.

 

[Heather]

And Ivy is a favourite of the bees - and much cheaper than syrup!

Dodgy relying on ivy stores- it sets solid and if a hard winter then they cannot get out for water to break down the ivy stores. They can starve with a hive full of ivy stores. Better to feed syrup too

 

[itma]

I'm not relying on it absolutely, there's plenty of liquid honey already in my 14x12s, even if very little ended up in the supers! And if the Ivy is as disappointing as most things this year, they'll be getting some syrup. (The late swarm is already, but not on the OP's scale.)
And there's Ambrosia if need be for late syrup feeding.
Hives in the garden can be closely monitored ...

One job for this week is to get some tidy lugs and attach them to the floors, so that I can weigh the hives one side at a time. At about 35kg currently, I can just about lift them, but I discovered that I can't weigh them at the same time!

I'm just surprised that the OP has been feeding on this scale, this early. Though, as I pointed out, its microclimate that counts, and I'm surprised hers would be so severe as to need to feed that sort of quantity, this early. Were the hives empty, or are they now pretty full?

A single brood National needs to be rammed pretty full with winter stores. A 14x12 will hold rather more than the 20kg ration advised. Feeding until they stop taking it, with a 14x12, this early, seems extremely ... generous!

Another aspect would be the bees themselves.
I know very little of Italian bees, other than they reputedly take the provision of feed as a trigger for additional brooding. Thus, I gather, they can take enormous amounts of food, without laying down much stores, rather raising brood.
Could that be a factor here?

 

[tonybloke]

Dodgy relying on ivy stores- it sets solid and if a hard winter then they cannot get out for water to break down the ivy stores. They can starve with a hive full of ivy stores. Better to feed syrup too

although I've heard that said many times, I've yet to see any peer-reviewed evidence of this.

bees can always access water in the winter, it's inside the hive, called condensation.

 

[Poly Hive]

Depends on the hive ?

Always is a big concept.

Bees do nothing invariably!

PH

 

[Tom Bick]

Dodgy relying on ivy stores- it sets solid and if a hard winter then they cannot get out for water to break down the ivy stores. They can starve with a hive full of ivy stores. Better to feed syrup too

Ivy is good source of pollen and nectar for the bees at this time of year but to rely on it totally for winter stores can cause problems especially to weaker colonies. If we think about it the bees should have a range of stores available to them but then in most cases we have taken it.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

New Bee 2.

How full is the hive?

 

[Hebeegeebee]

I've never had any problem with ivy honey. It sets like slabs of concrete but it's gone in the spring. I do often feed some syrup around now - before the ivy comes into flower, and will top up with syrup if needed.

Ivy isn't quite out yet for me. However I saw some in a south facing hedge on Sunday that's just starting - a few hoverflies were interested in it.

 

[oliver90owner]

Better to feed syrup too

It may be, but ... I have not fed any autumn sugar syrup (or fondant ) in the past five years. That may well change this year, however as this year is different to any of the rest!