Stimulative feeding?

[Mellifera397]

Hello all,

I hear often around this time of year about feeding 1:1 syrup in a frame feeder as 'stimulative feed'. I've never tried it myself, simply monitoring what the bees bring in themselves and feeding in cases of real need. What are your views and practices regarding 'stimulative feed' ?

Thanks,

M

 

[Finman]

.
When bees forage in willows, there is nothing more stimulative.
Feeding syrup only fills valuable brood cells.

First amount of brood depends on amount of feeder bees, which origin is last autumn.

When new nurser bee gang emerges, it is not any more minimum factor. Minimum factor will be now, how big brood area bees can maintain warm.

I have noticed this when I have warmed my hives with terrarium heaters. Heating affects best on biggest hives. They can keep warm bigger radius of brood ball. The corners of frames are now any more cold. There are brood down to lowest frames stick. Queen descends easily downwards to lay. When common truth is that queen like to move up in lsying, with heating the queen moves down towards heat.

And close that mesh floor. In spring 10 cm x 1cm is enough to douple brood hive for air exhange. They do not need 30 x30 cm opening.

Keep the brood hive warm. That is best you can do to stimulate brooding.
.

 

[Obee1]

Finman

Re closing the mesh floor. My hive came with mesh screen and a plastic sheet for counting mite drop. Should I be inserting a piece of wood in place of the inspection board to keep the hive warm?

Obee

 

[Finman]

Finman

Re closing the mesh floor. My hive came with mesh screen and a plastic sheet for counting mite drop. Should I be inserting a piece of wood in place of the inspection board to keep the hive warm?

Obee

I do not know what construction you have, but UK beekeepers us to ventilate their hives like mad.

You are surely able to think, what is warm floor in the hive.

 

[Obee1]

I realise a wooden insert under the mesh would be warmer than leaving it open. However, national hives seem to come with open mesh and as you say british Beeks seem to leave them open. Especially in the cold winter months. So do you leave your hives with open mesh through your winter then close in spring. Do you leave it open in summer.

 

[BeeJayBee]

I realise a wooden insert under the mesh would be warmer than leaving it open. However, national hives seem to come with open mesh and as you say british Beeks seem to leave them open.

If you do not want to use open mesh floors then transfer the colony to a solid floor. Leaving the inspection tray in place is not a good option because debris, including wax moth eggs, will collect on the tray and the bees will be unable to clean it away.

 

[Erichalfbee]

debris, including wax moth eggs, will collect on the tray and the bees will be unable to clean it away.

Easy enough to clean the board every week .....just wipe it clean

 

[oliver90owner]

Starting with the 1:1. Bees need water for brooding. I used to start them on sugar solution and progressively reduce the sugar -as long as they have sufficient carbohydrate stores. I used to start some early, so foragers were ready for OSR in early April. If the flow does not arrive on time, they may need feeding to avoid starvation, particularly if a really strong colony.

To the bottom ventilation. They most certainly do not need a full mesh floor - a 3mm slot under each frame is likely more than adequate (read John Harding's book!). Having said that, I leave my floors virtually open virtually all year long. Not such a good idea on a single deep box, IMO. One of the reasons why I chose to run 14 x12s.

This time of the year. Think here a couple brood cycles needed to get foragers from eggs laid today - yes, six weeks!. Eggs now will only be foragers in mid May. One reason why so many beeks complain of poor OSR crops - the colonies are still expanding and without a strong foraging force until the flow is over! Then they swarm, surprise, surprise!

 

[bontbee]

national hives seem to come with open mesh and as you say british Beeks seem to leave them open. Especially in the cold winter months. So do you leave your hives with open mesh through your winter then close in spring. Do you leave it open in summer.

I don't leave mine open during the winter months - or in the spring if it's still cold! My hives are on tall stands and the wind whips under them.

Easy enough to clean the board every week .....just wipe it clean

And in winter, when there isn't much activity, there isn't much to clean! (so, in the 20 mile away out apiary, they get cleaned once a month to 6 weeks during the winter....still nowt to get concerned about)

 

[Finman]

Starting with the 1:1. Bees need water for brooding. I used to start them on sugar solution and progressively reduce the sugar -as long as they have sufficient carbohydrate stores. !

Bees get water from ground in Britain. No problem. What they need for build up is pollen.

 

[oliver90owner]

Bees get water from ground in Britain

You think so? Not necessarily so when a bitterly cold easterly wind keeps them indoors for days on end. No problem at this time of the year, but too late for a normal OSR crop; mid to late February might need to be considered.

Beeks need to read their particular needs and not be told something that, while true for most of the time, is useless for the difficult weather periods that can occur. Beeks need to think for themselves, not be told that water in britain is never a problem. Beeks need to consider that in times of honey usage (before any nectar flow) pollen can be stored at a fast rate; but I have not yet seen water stored on its own in a hive - it is collected and used. Maybe you have? Honey on its own needs extra water for brooding use. Fondant is worse still and how many posts on here, recently, where fondant is still being fed? Dummy beekeeping at its worst.

 

[Finman]

.
If bees cannot get water from ground, they get no pollen either from plats.

I have fed bees 2o years in spring, and I know exactly what they do.
Bees cannot take drinking water from snow.

When I started patty feeding, I noticed at once, that hives become sick if I start too early patty feeding. (shalck brood)

When half of garden was free from snow, bees succeed to feed hives.
But it took often up to afternoon when bees started again to eate patty, because they got enough water outside only after midday.

It happened only once during 20 years that in the last week of April ground was covered with new snow and temps were under zero. All 30 hives lost their every single larvae. They lost 2 weeks laying.

 

[Cussword]

oops

 

[user 6228]

Finman

Re closing the mesh floor. My hive came with mesh screen and a plastic sheet for counting mite drop. Should I be inserting a piece of wood in place of the inspection board to keep the hive warm?

Obee

There is a heat loss interaction between : the entrance size, entrance distance from the top of the cavity, entrance tunnel length, the mesh size and material, the level of hive insulation, and the distance between the mesh and the varroa tray opening.

 

[Finman]

.
I have noticed, that wind effect has a big influence in spring build up even with solid bottom.
When I started to heat with electrict the hive bottoms, the difference disappeared.

Half day shadow is very bad too.

In both cases chalk brood appeared most in chilly sites. But most it depends on heredity.

 

[oliver90owner]

Electric heaters stop the wind? Provides some artificial sunlight, too?

Nah! I think it was simply the internal temperature of the hive. Nevermind what the cooling vector may have been. Most of us have heard of wind chill, latent heat of evaporation, radiant heat from the Sun, etc.

Thermal insulation while heating must be a priority?

 

[Mellifera397]

Thanks RAB and Finman for the responses on feeding. I will bear your practices and experience in mind.

M

 

[Finman]

Thermal insulation while heating must be a priority?

Insulated box is priority.

Second is ventilation. Like in long hives beeks keep the whole bottom open. No limit to madness.

I have said at least 10 times, that electrict heating on bottom teaches to understand the value of heat to spring build up. You cannot believe it just by thinking.

 

[scituatema]

Finman,
Have you started heating your hives yet ?

 

[Obee1]

Are we talking about wind chill here or draughts. My hive is surrounded by hedges and shrubs and the brick pillar it is standing on has just one layer of brick at the top edge to make an air gap under the bottom. There is zero wind. I have put the inspection board in now ( 3 full days and not one varroa mite) so hopefully it will be warm enough. I think my 11 frame brood nest (over both boxes) means they are building up nicely?

obee