winter feeding

[reigate]

if the stores are low in the brood box is it possible to feed fondant now or is it too early?

 

[steve1958]

I'm still feeding sugar syrup and the bees are bringing Ivy nectar in.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

if the stores are low in the brood box is it possible to feed fondant now or is it too early?

you can feed fondant at any time, it's just sugar, bees will store it the same as they store syrup

 

[Cuckmere couple]

its still fine in our area to feed syrup

i keep fondant for jan/feb if they need it

 

[steve1958]

Bees do not store fondant.
Bees will eat it as it is.

If you add fondant now you will need to feed it to them all winter,
So best try and build up their stores by feeding 2 to 1 sugar syrup.

 

[Millet]

Bees do not store fondant.
Bees will eat it as it is.

If you add fondant now you will need to feed it to them all winter,
So best try and build up their stores by feeding 2 to 1 sugar syrup.

I must have different bees to you as mine store fondant the same as they do with sugar syrup..

 

[madasafish]

Bees do not store fondant.
Bees will eat it as it is.

If you add fondant now you will need to feed it to them all winter,
So best try and build up their stores by feeding 2 to 1 sugar syrup.

Err My bees all store fondant.
Our Association bees stores fondant.
Every hive I have fed fondant to stores any surplus.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Err My bees all store fondant.
Our Association bees stores fondant.
Every hive I have fed fondant to stores any surplus.

Same here
There’s this idea that if you don’t see white fondant in cells it’s not there
I wonder how the bees move it?
Do they eat it then transfer as liquid for store or do they carve it up in pieces?

 

[Ian123]

Bees store fondant and it can be fed now if you wish however I would say that sugar gives more bang for your money and you will certainly get it into the hive faster in syrup form.

 

[Millet]

Bees store fondant and it can be fed now if you wish however I would say that sugar gives more bang for your money and you will certainly get it into the hive faster in syrup form.

With the added bonus of Thymol..

 

[Ian123]

With the added bonus of Thymol..

Yes indeed!

 

[Poly Hive]

I am not disputing that bees store fondant as so many say they see this.

I have to honestly say I have never observed it myself as the blocks of fondant I feed stay as blocks on the top bars. Now, this may be because the hives are in a well fed state and there are no empty cells to put it in.

In a spirit of curiosity how do you know, bar feeding dyed fondant, that storing is happening?

PH

 

[Michael Palmer]

In a spirit of curiosity how do you know, bar feeding dyed fondant, that storing is happening?

PH

Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I am not disputing that bees store fondant as so many say they see this.



In a spirit of curiosity how do you know, bar feeding dyed fondant, that storing is happening?

PH

Maybe the speed at which it disappears?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

In a spirit of curiosity how do you know, bar feeding dyed fondant, that storing is happening?

PH

Hive almost devoid of stores in October - took down the best part of 14 Kg of fondant in three/four weeks, virtually no ivy that year, not touched again until spring, still no natural forage around, a fair bit of stores observed and colony thriving.

Hive late winter, absolutely no forage around, very little stores left, fed vast quantities of fondant which they took down, opened three weeks or so later - still no natural forage available but measurably more stores found in the colony.

Midwinter, it seems safe to put on fondant and they only take it down when needed, any other time, I would expect them to store it - regardless of what the local seller of prettily packaged 'bee fondant' says.

 

[madasafish]

Fondant disappears and capped stores increase..

(I feed my larger mini mating nucs only fondat all year round and they appear to convert it into stores.0

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

There’s this idea that if you don’t see white fondant in cells it’s not there
I wonder how the bees move it?
Do they eat it then transfer as liquid for store or do they carve it up in pieces?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Bees store fondant and it can be fed now if you wish however I would say that sugar gives more bang for your money and you will certainly get it into the hive faster in syrup form.

However, many around here never feed syrup, just pile on the fondant from now until the spring

 

[Ian123]

Probably has a lot to do with when fondant is fed autumn it will be stored in winter I think they consume as needed and see little if any stored.

 

[steve1958]

Bees eat the fondant to give them energy to go out and collect nectar.
They then store the nectar.

Ivy isn't the only nectar source late season,
There are lots of other flowers out there.