To feed or not to feed? That is the question...

[BeeFarmer]

Hello,

I was wondering if someone could offer me some advice.

A few months ago I aquired a colony but unfortunately do not know how well they went into autumn. I am therefore a little confused as to what I should now do regarding feeding. When I picked up the bees I was given some additional fondant for them which I subsequently placed on the hive and they took down. I've hefted the hive but given no previous reference point it's difficult to guess what is right and wrong. I'm sure this is something that will come with experience.

Given that the weather has improved and I noticed they were flying more and bringing in pollen I decided that this week I should not put fondant on the hive encase they started filling up the laying space. This leads me onto my question, to be on the side of caution should I continue with the fondant for another week or so or is the weather now warm enough to feed a light syrup for the next few weeks leading upto the fields around us being full of OSR?

As a side note it was 17 degrees on Sunday so I had a quick peek inside the hive. I noticed the pollen being packed away by some busy workers, some clear liquid stored away in the tops of the frames and some uncapped brood. This has satisfied me that the colony must be queen right although I didn't spend too long trying to spot her.

I know experience is everything but I'd hate to loose them right now and experience nothing.

 

[pargyle]

When exactly did you get your bees ?

You didn't inspect them when you got them ?

You say you were given 'Additional fondant' so ... had they had some already, how much and when ?

How much 'additional fondant' did you put in the hive and when ?

When you looked on Sunday how many frames of stores did you see ?

How much capped brood was there ?

Were there any areas of cleaned cells ready for the queen to lay in ?

No point in 'peeking' in if you are not going to discover the answer to the questions you wanted answering ... 'Have they been fed too much or not enough and is there enough space for the Queen to lay ?'.

Bit more information will provide some good answers I would think ...

 

[Pete D]

When you had your quick peek can you visualise how many frames (covered both sides) all the stores, capped and uncapped would equal, if its more than 2 full frames I would say they have plenty, 1 or less give them a lump of fondant or some thin syrup, just give them a bit though, not kilos or gallons.
Good luck

 

[BeeFarmer]

I'm sorry, I should have given a little more information.

When exactly did you get your bees?
I got them at the start of Feburary.

You didn't inspect them when you got them?
When I got them it was too cold to do an inspection so I had a quick peep under the cover board and saw a good 3 - 4 seems of bees.

You say you were given 'Additional fondant' so ... had they had some already, how much and when?
The gentleman who was giving them up had some fondant on top of the frames, I added an additional block after this had gone since the weather was still poor.

How much 'additional fondant' did you put in the hive and when?
I put about a 1lb block on the hive on 27th February, there were a few crumbs left on 9th March but the majority had been taken

When you looked on Sunday how many frames of stores did you see?
I noticed half a frame of capped honey, some cells with uncelled pollen in them although these were few and far between since it was the first day I'd really seen them flying and then quite a lot of cells probably a frame of clear liquid.

How much capped brood was there?
I'll be honest, I didn't shake the bees of the frames to look underneath, I was more concerned at looking for empty combs for laying. If the temperature is in the high teens this weekend would this be recommened?

Were there any areas of cleaned cells ready for the queen to lay in?
Yes, there was some lovely clean comb waiting for layng

 

[pargyle]

One frame of stores then .... I'd be happier with two or three. My bees, since they started flying in earnest, are clearly consuming more stores than they did over winter.

It's a bit weather dependent but one National frame is a bit marginal ... they must have had a lot of their honey stripped out at the end of the season last year and the previous owner was obviously relying on feeding them over winter.

I'd be inclined to put a feeder on with some 1:1 and see how they get on with that .. not a lot ... just a few litres. Assuming of course that the weather stays mild and we don't get a real cold snap.

I'm sure there will be others along with more experience than me now that you have provided a bit more info... good thing is that they are alive and thriving - that's the best feeling !!

 

[BeeFarmer]

Settled on putting some fondant on yesterday evening, a 10 second job that gives hours of relief! They appears to be quite happy when I removed the crownboard.

 

[MartinL]

Not too sure about the climate change situation I've had a peek under the quilt but as for lifting frames I won't be poking around inside any hives for a few more weeks yet.

If they need to be fed now, I wouldn't be giving fondant. Syrup would be much better for them, especially if they are bringing in plenty of pollen.

 

[BeeFarmer]

Syrup would be much better for them, especially if they are bringing in plenty of pollen.

It's still cold at night though and since we're only in March there is still the chance of a few hard frosts.