hungry bees

[kendo]

hi just wondering how hungry bees can be? i feed my bees 2 weeks ago with
5lbs of sugar,i had a peep at them yesterday and its all gone so put another 2kg in,hope it lasts till new year cheers ken

 

[Erichalfbee]

Well what are the rest of the stores like?
They will eat what they need
If they have nothing else then 5lbs will probably not last as long as the first 5lbs
If they have stores and are eating your sugar in preference then you might have to take frames out in the spring.

 

[enrico]

It depends on so much. Location, weather, known stores before feeding, size of colony etc etc. There ding, size of colony etc etc. There is no easy answer. To help yourself feel the weight of the hive. If it is very light then feed. That is the best I can advise.
E

 

[Gilberdyke John]

hi just wondering how hungry bees can be? i feed my bees 2 weeks ago with
5lbs of sugar,i had a peep at them yesterday and its all gone so put another 2kg in,hope it lasts till new year cheers ken

You should weigh the hive to get an idea of how much stores is in there. Fit a screw-eye into each side of the floor and use a luggage scale from poundstretcher. It's been covered many times in the forum, method of use, summation of the readings and weights of different hive configurations (empty) can be found via the search function. Easy to do a bit of subtraction to gain awareness of what's happening inside the hive.

 

[Millet]

hi just wondering how hungry bees can be? i feed my bees 2 weeks ago with
5lbs of sugar,i had a peep at them yesterday and its all gone so put another 2kg in,hope it lasts till new year cheers ken

I weigh my hive with a set of fishing scales so i know exactly what they have in there..

 

[For want of a better word]

I weigh my hive with a set of fishing scales so i know exactly what they have in there..

A salmon.. a few codfish.. the odd mullet, possibly a grayling .......
bet there doing something fishy!

Put a 2kg block of fondant over the open feedhole...and see what the do to that!!

Good luck
Nadelik lowen!

 

[Gilberdyke John]

A salmon.. a few codfish.. the odd mullet, possibly a grayling .......
bet there doing something fishy!

Put a 2kg block of fondant over the open feedhole...and see what the do to that!!

Good luck
Nadelik lowen!

The OP just did that

 

[For want of a better word]

The OP just did that

Is sugar the same as fondant?

Nadelik lowen!

 

[Millet]

A salmon.. a few codfish.. the odd mullet, possibly a grayling .......
bet there doing something fishy!

Put a 2kg block of fondant over the open feedhole...and see what the do to that!!

Good luck
Nadelik lowen!

You are being silly now, everyone knows it is better to invert a few tins of Mackerel in sunflower oil over the feed hole.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Is sugar the same as fondant?

If it is just dry sugar, or too dry, they will often just chuck it all out.

 

[For want of a better word]

Before fondant or fondleabee was invented Grandad used to put a 2lb bag of sugar in the waterbutt for a couple of minutes and put that straight atop the frames with a small slit in the bag.. then the potato sacks were put back on and the lid replaced!

Tinned Mackerel... saving that for the Christmas feast!!!

Nadelik lowen!

 

[kendo]

mountain way

hi and a happy Xmas to you all, i fed my bees the USA mountain way,
lay a sheet of news paper over the top of the frames leaving room around the edges then lay sugar on the paper and spray with water with a bit of lemon juice to make a crust when it drys,
the bees eat the sugar in a line or a semi circle the bees stay in the hive and don't look like they through it out cheers ken

 

[Millet]

hi and a happy Xmas to you all, i fed my bees the USA mountain way,
lay a sheet of news paper over the top of the frames leaving room around the edges then lay sugar on the paper and spray with water with a bit of lemon juice to make a crust when it drys,
the bees eat the sugar in a line or a semi circle the bees stay in the hive and don't look like they through it out cheers ken

Are you on a USA mountain, i would rather fling a box of smashed up Mr Kipling apple tarts in there than put sugar over them like that.

 

[kendo]

mountain sugar method

well I must have done the right thing feeding my bees the mountain method
my bees survived the winter and some other beekeepers bees didn't
make it even feeding them fondant
cheers ken

 

[Brigsy]

Good news!

 

[Erichalfbee]

That's good news.
I think bees will eat sugar in any form if they need it; including solid hard stuff if they have water

 

[taurus]

hi just wondering how hungry bees can be? i feed my bees 2 weeks ago with
5lbs of sugar,i had a peep at them yesterday and its all gone so put another 2kg in,hope it lasts till new year cheers ken

I have fondant on top of mine and asked yesterday if it is time to remove it as so far they haven't touched it.

I was told that at this time of year when the bees start flying and bringing in water they will often go up to the fondant (or sugar in this case) and move it down into their stores.

So might it be the case that they are moving it rather than eating it?