Lowest temperature to feed 2:1 syrup?

[Zante]

I'm looking at preparing my hives for their first winter, and I'm reluctant to feed them yet, as the rosemary had just bloomed again, and in general it is warmer here, so there is still forage to collect. I wouldn't be surprised if there were plenty of plants catching up now after the drought!
It's around 15 celsius in the morning, and during the day it still reaches the mid twenties, plus now it's raining regularly so plants actually have moisture to make nectar, so I'd rather they collected what they can before I fill the box with syrup.

So, here's the question, how long can I wait before I give them a syrup booster (if they need it)? How cold can it be and still feed them 2:1 syrup?

 

[alfazer]

I don't know your climate so can't the answer your first question, but for question two, I'd say around 8degC.

 

[Softley]

I think the syrup ifself has to be above 10°C for the bees to take it, but I can't remember where I read that.

 

[Millet]

Will the temperature not be slightly higher inside a poly hive than the outside temperature..

 

[nightshade]

I believe ito oncentre the day time temperature reaches single figures....

 

[thenovice]

I put the feeder in an eke with rockwool insulation on top. Have seen bees in it well after jumper weather has set in. I can not vouch they were actually taking it down but with the insulation on top, the feeder itself is feeling warm to the touch. I will try to monitor it this year as I am always richly late with feeding ;-).

 

[Kenson]

This is something I need to learn about. Can you "Overfeed bees"?

i.e. If we leave Ambrosia in the feeder, will they keep taking it until the Queen has nowhere to lay? Will the hive commit "Hare-Kare" by feeding itself to death?

I doubt it.

So. If the feeder is attached (i.e. not a loss of heat), and insulated (low heat loss), it will effectively just be "part of the hive" and I suspect the bees will know when it is warm enough to go fetch food, or cold enough to stay in cluster.

So. It seems to me that having the food there, if they want it, can only be an advantage.

K

 

[JWF]

This is something I need to learn about. Can you "Overfeed bees"?

i.e. If we leave Ambrosia in the feeder, will they keep taking it until the Queen has nowhere to lay? Will the hive commit "Hare-Kare" by feeding itself to death?

I doubt it.

So. If the feeder is attached (i.e. not a loss of heat), and insulated (low heat loss), it will effectively just be "part of the hive" and I suspect the bees will know when it is warm enough to go fetch food, or cold enough to stay in cluster.

So. It seems to me that having the food there, if they want it, can only be an advantage.

K

They will fill the brood area leaving very little or no room for brood.

 

[Kenson]

See, I definately need to learn

Thanks.

This implies feeding is an "Art/Science", we have to work out how much. "Hefting" has been explained to me as a method, you get to know how heavy the hive should feel when it has the right amount of stores, or weighing with a scale.

I will read more

 

[drex]

Feeding is certainly a fine balancing act. It comes with experience. At your last full inspection, look to see how many whole frames of stores there are, ( including those part filled) , then heft , and make a mental note of " this is how x frames of stores feels". You soon get the hang of hefting like that.

 

[Teemore]

Over time you learn roughly how much supplemental feed your colonies need. It can and will vary year by year. It will vary depending on whether you harvest a surplus of honey or whether you strip the hives. Weather is a significant determinant also.

During August and for the first two weeks of September, most of my stocks had neither the forage or weather windows to add to their stores of pollen or nectar. Bearing that in mind, I variously delayed in removing supers and began feeding. The majority of my colonies initiated a brood break during that period and so their food requirements were reduced. Had I fed too much, the queens would have had too little space in which to lay, brood comb having been filled with stores. When I began to apply varroa treatment, I took the opportunity to take a look into one or two stocks in each apiary and evaluated brood space and store levels. I then adapted my feeding to suit. A visual check plus hefting will help you gain a muscle memory fo what "enough" stores feels like. You might also use a spring balance to weigh opposite sides of a hive and from that, ascertain the overall weight. From that you can ID "enough" stores. What is enough will vary from year to year but I have to note, each Spring I have to remove frames of stores to give colonies expansion room. Those frames of stores are then available for use in Nucs later in the season.