Overfeeding?

[melias]

I have 2 hives, both with 14x12 brood boxes. Several weeks ago, I checked the stores and both were very light. I commenced autumn feeding with 2:1 sugar syrup in Ashforth feeders. I have now fed each hive 26 kilos of sugar!

Should I keep feeding until they stop taking the sugar, or are the bees in danger of filling up every available cell with syrup?

 

[Gower]

not sure if you can over fed as i believe when the bees have had enough they simply stop taking the syrup down. i hope my hives dont take anywhere near that quantity as i have 5 14x12 and it would cost a small fortune in sugar!

 

[oliver90owner]

not sure if you can over fed

Sorry to disillusion you, but you are wrong in thinking that.

A lot of people are under that miss-apprehension. Just a modicum of thought on the subject revealed the following instances:

Feed, feed, feed nucs is but just one instance, feeding fondant unecessarily in the winter (thus blocking brood space in spring) is another. Filling the brood box with autumn stores at the expense of autumn brood is yet another. All examples of too much feed, at the expense of 'keeping bees' instead.

By now you should be sure that you can overfeed bees.

RAB

 

[Gower]

i've been advised previously to feed until the bees stop taking it down. what would you advise as an alternative - check the amount of space in on the frames to ensure there's sufficient space for Q to continue laying into the Autumn?

cheers

 

[Poggle]

I was told to feed syrup till temps get below 15c during the day then go onto fondant. This I will be doing.

 

[BenjaminTBK]

iam doing the same i think that you doing just ok keep feeding them

 

[itma]

There seems to be some confusion between Spring and Autumn.

At this time of the year (lets pretend its Spring), you should only be feeding anything if they are actually distinctly low on stores.


It's easy to overfeed in Spring. Its harder (but probably possible) in Autumn.

 

[Erichalfbee]

what would you advise as an alternative - check the amount of space in on the frames to ensure there's sufficient space for Q to continue laying into the Autumn?

cheers

Yes.
My penultimate inspection last year was 28th Sept.
It was still warm,the bees were collecting lots of ivy so I removed a frame of stores from the edge of the box and put in a frame of foundation in the middle of the brood nest. All drawn and laid up with winter bees a week later.

That spring, as a beginner I had fed fondant practically all through the previous winter.
The queen had no space and the colony swarmed in mid April.

 

[Finman]

.

Ok. If you have overfeeded, take the extra off.

Now the hive is half full sugar. Where it put brood, pollen and nectar?