Too late to feed light syrup now?

[zubb]

Is it too late in the season to feed light syrup in order to encourage the bees to draw foundation. Or will heavy syrup achieve the same result?

I have a couple of smallish colonies (on about 4 to 5 commercial frames) that have filled the available drawn foundation with stores making the brood nest quite tight, but they seem reluctant to draw any further foundation. I don't want to unite the two unless I absolutely have to, but want to ensure they are viable to survive the winter with sufficient brood and stores.

Thanks.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Is it too late in the season to feed light syrup in order to encourage the bees to draw foundation.

No.

 

[Murox]

Is it too late in the season to feed light syrup in order to encourage the bees to draw foundation. Or will heavy syrup achieve the same result?

I have a couple of smallish colonies (on about 4 to 5 commercial frames) that have filled the available drawn foundation with stores making the brood nest quite tight, but they seem reluctant to draw any further foundation. I don't want to unite the two unless I absolutely have to, but want to ensure they are viable to survive the winter with sufficient brood and stores.

Thanks.

A light sugar syrup (1 part sugar to 1 part water) is similar to nectar. With a ready supply of nectar or light syrup workers will build comb and the queen will lay eggs. Years ago we used 1 part sugar to 2 parts water to stimulate brood rearing, although I don't know if this is advised anymore.

A heavier autumn sugar syrup (2 parts sugar to one part water) resembles honey and bees tend to store it for winter. Use it in the autumn if you think there is not enough honey stored in the hive for them to survive the winter months.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The bees really don't give a damn whether it's light or heavy. If they want to draw comb they will, if they want to store syrup, they will - there is nothing we can do to force them otherwise just by changing the water content.
I give my bees invert regardless of the time of year, in the summer, they will draw comb with it, in the winter - store.

 

[Ian123]

yes plenty of time to get some thicker stuff on later, i have nucs and small colonies that are getting a 2 and a half litre bucket of thin stuff every time i inspect...yes it keeps the queen laying and bees drawing....i will keep feeding nucs until they refuse to take it late in autunm when the temp drops, but obviously thicken it up late on

 

[mike99]

Is it too late in the season to feed light syrup in order to encourage the bees to draw foundation. Or will heavy syrup achieve the same result?

I have a couple of smallish colonies (on about 4 to 5 commercial frames) that have filled the available drawn foundation with stores making the brood nest quite tight, but they seem reluctant to draw any further foundation. I don't want to unite the two unless I absolutely have to, but want to ensure they are viable to survive the winter with sufficient brood and stores.

Thanks.

I am feeding my colony light syrup and have just replenished it today. It was to encourage them to draw comb but they don't seem to be doing much with it. They still seem to bringing in Pollen as well.

 

[drex]

The bees really don't give a damn whether it's light or heavy. If they want to draw comb they will, if they want to store syrup, they will - there is nothing we can do to force them otherwise just by changing the water content.
I give my bees invert regardless of the time of year, in the summer, they will draw comb with it, in the winter - store.

I think it is Randy Oliver who did trials on this and as JBM says it made no difference. However I believe if I am trying to build up stores, it will save them a bit of work trying to evaporate water off light syrup.

 

[itsbruce]

In this heat, it's worth remembering that light syrup has a higher water content.

 

[Beefriendly]

In this heat, it's worth remembering that light syrup has a higher water content.

Higher water content than what?

 

[Hebeegeebee]

Higher water content than what?

Do you really need anyone to answer that?

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Higher water content than what?

Heavy syrup?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

sand?

 

[B+.]

No.

I am feeding 1:1 syrup to nucs now. They have a couple of frames of foundation and are drawing it out nicely

 

[Finman]

.
Bees start foundation drawimg, but then they fill the short tubes. They continue tube lenghtening if they get more honey. If they do not get, they stop drawing.

So... If you want totally built combs, you need sugar what bees need to make the wax. IT is 6 kg sugar plus water. Then you need sugar syrup, that the combs are full of syrup.

As you know, you can feed go langstroth box 20 kg sugar for Winter.

Imagine the rest how much sugar you must feed to get full grown combs.

I have fed 20% sugar syrup to swarm colonies that they do not store syrup, but they draw long cell tubes.

I do not keep as a good idea to make combs for next year. They really do them next summer when they need then.

I think that they consume all pollen stores what they need to rear winter bees in September. Now with acceleration they would rear bees which however die before autumn.

End result may be something else than new combs. It depends much, do they get pollen from nature during August and during September.




.

 

[Beefriendly]

Heavy syrup?

Yes, but itsbruce stated specifically "in this heat". Thin syrup will always have a higher water content than heavy syrup ( and sand....). Regardless of the temperature....so I was (and still am) puzzled as to what he was comparing it to.

 

[Polyanwood]

Once I've got the supers off I'm starting to feed light syrup to my apiaries that are in travelling distance of foulbrood notification. Hoping that will help keep them close to home.
Don't normally bother, just feed heavy syrup later, but if I can make it less worth their while to go out robbing, I will.

 

[itsbruce]

Yes, but itsbruce stated specifically "in this heat". Thin syrup will always have a higher water content than heavy syrup ( and sand....). Regardless of the temperature....so I was (and still am) puzzled as to what he was comparing it to.

Really? Did you really misunderstand or are you just doing some misguidedly pedantic grammar trolling?

"In this heat, it's worth remembering that" means that the current heat makes it particularly worthwhile remembering the thing after "that"..

If I had said

"In this heat, it's worth remembering, light syrup has a higher water content"

then you'd have justification. Since I didn't, you're just wasting all our time.

Not just pointless pedantry but wrong.

 

[Beefriendly]

In this heat, it's worth remembering that light syrup has a higher water content.

If I had said "In this heat, it's worth remembering, light syrup has a higher water content"

then you'd have justification. Since I didn't, you're just wasting all our time.

Errr But that is what you did write...check your original post I've re-quoted it above. I asked a simple question...hot weather it seems is not only making the bees tetchy.
You can apologise later.

 

[itsbruce]

Errr But that is EXACTLY what you said...check your post I've re-quoted it above. You can apologise and grovel later.

No, it isn't. Both the punctuation and wording are different. Are you dyslexic?

 

[Beefriendly]

Okay, lets start again higher water content than what?