when to stop feeding

[abbot ale]

I have two hives that I have been feeding a 1.1 mixture, but now rapeseed has come into flower in my area and lam guessing my bees are on this, so do I stop feeding them? or continue till the weather improves?

 

[Dishmop]

I have two hives that I have been feeding a 1.1 mixture, but now rapeseed has come into flower in my area and lam guessing my bees are on this, so do I stop feeding them? or continue till the weather improves?

Why were you feeding them?

 

[abbot ale]

they had come out of winter with not much reserve of food

 

[pargyle]

they had come out of winter with not much reserve of food

They really only need enough stores for the next two weeks - so depending on the size of your colony they will manage with two/three frames of stores if you are on 14x 12 and three/four if they are in a national. That's more than the 'usual' recommended but I like to be certain as I don't do weekly inspections.

You should not really be feeding now - there is forage about and you are just risking them storing the syrup .. and if there is rape about you will be contaminating the honey they will certainly be producing.

As always, they are your bees and it's all about judgement and knowing how greedy they are but I would not be feeding syrup in spring unless there was a real reason for it ... and I can't think of many. Most people tend to use fondant if a hive is low on stores after the winter rather than syrup.

Just finally - why did they run out of stores over winter ?

 

[Dishmop]

they had come out of winter with not much reserve of food

They eat it for the energy they need when they start flying.

 

[abbot ale]

not sure why supplies got low not been doing this for long just pleased they got through the cold spell

 

[Finman]

.
When you have onebox hive, there should be allways 2 full frame of food that hive goes over bad week. That is about 4-5 kg food.
Hive consumes much stores in brood rearing.

 

[pargyle]

not sure why supplies got low not been doing this for long just pleased they got through the cold spell

Did you remove honey from the hive in Autumn ?... and if so .. did you feed them to replace the stores ?

Depending on the type/size of hive your bees will, generally, need the equivalent of a full brood box of 14 x 12 frames to safely see them through the winter. Usually considered as around 20Kg of honey or honey substitute...less if they are in an insulated or poly hive. If they did not have this much going into winter then they would probably run out ...

It's good that they got though this winter but it's something you need to consider for next winter.

 

[abbot ale]

So Iam right in feeding them ?

 

[pargyle]

So Iam right in feeding them ?

You are always right to feed them if they needed it ... whether they need it now is something else that you need to consider. There's no criticism of what you have done ...your bees are alive .. what you do now depends on your locally available forage and how much stores they currently have in the hive.

 

[itma]

You are always right to feed them if they needed it ... whether they need it now is something else that you need to consider.

... what you do now depends on your locally available forage and how much stores they currently have in the hive.

I note that the feed was said to be "1:1".
50/50 syrup (by weight) is given as fuel for immediate use, typically to provide fuel for wax-making when drawing new brood comb.
If you have a fully-drawn brood box AND less than a couple of frames of stores AND no crop super(s) on, then a little bit of stronger syrup (for storing) might be appropriate.
However, in most of the country it seems that there is nectar available to the bees, and feeding should not be needed now.

The concern for those that have been feeding is that there may not be enough empty comb in the brood box for the Q to lay in. Restricting her laying with excess stores promotes swarming.
In summer, the brood box is for (the clue is in the name) brood ... ! (Not food.)

 

[pargyle]

I note that the feed was said to be "1:1".
50/50 syrup (by weight) is given as fuel for immediate use, typically to provide fuel for wax-making when drawing new brood comb.
If you have a fully-drawn brood box AND less than a couple of frames of stores AND no crop super(s) on, then a little bit of stronger syrup (for storing) might be appropriate.
However, in most of the country it seems that there is nectar available to the bees, and feeding should not be needed now.

The concern for those that have been feeding is that there may not be enough empty comb in the brood box for the Q to lay in. Restricting her laying with excess stores promotes swarming.
In summer, the brood box is for (the clue is in the name) brood ... ! (Not food.)

Yep, agree ... if you look back on a few posts of mine in this thread you will find that it's a bit of a continuing saga ... the OP is feeding 1:1 and the original post was when to STOP feeding ... the secondary question about whether he was right to feed was the one subsequently answered ... the other questions, not asked, would be WHAT to feed .... and WHY.

There appears to be much confusion about feeding bees .. There are people who seem to think bees are like dogs and need feeding all the year round (total disaster in all respects !) through to the people who slap fondant on in September. regardless of whether the bees have their own stores, as a 'just in case' precaution (equally unthinking in my opinion) down to those of us who make sure that the bees have sufficient stores (be it honey or fed syrup) going into winter to see them through, under normal circumstances. Using fondant in late winter/early spring on the occasions when, for a variety of reasons, the bees or the keeper get in wrong.

There is an equal amount of confusion about feeding bees to build up new colonies or as an aid to comb building. The books are not a lot of help to new beekeepers as there are significant variations in the advice proffered there as well. Is it little wonder that questions about feeding are one of the most frequently raised on this and other beekeeping forums ?