Winter feeding.

[beeno]

Backfilling, in this context, is generally used to describe the undesirable choking off of a queen's ability to lay as many winter bees as she wants to, as the workers put a glut of syrup absolutely anywhere they can.

The "undesirble choking off of a queen's ability to lay" I would call the brood nest is honey bound. Back filling is when brood emerges and the brood cells are filled with nectar which is usually a temporary state as they will store the nectar as honey in the honey arch in due course when the water content is correct, leaving room in the middle of 5-6 brood frames for the queen to lay the winter bees albeit in a much smaller area. During the summer of course reduced water content nectar will be moved up into the supers, but temporarily the brood nest may be honey bound and frames may have to be replaced with empty drawn frames to prevent swarming. It is important to learn the vernacular so that we all speak the same language.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I’ve never kept Italian bees though.

Never had any English bees though - what are they like?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Never had any English bees though - what are they like?

I bet you’ve kept Buckfast in the dim and distant past though?
I’ve been keeping bees for only 13 years and I’ve tried all sorts.
Welsh English Irish Danish German.
They are all different
Ive even had a punt at Bedfordshire Carnica .... I like a challenge. Too much like hard work though

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I bet you’ve kept Buckfast in the dim and distant past though?

Yep - but they weren't English ones though

 

[itsbruce]

As for not robbing fondant, 12 mini nucs last year and various nucs over the years suggest it is fable (again).

I don't think anybody is saying fondant won't be robbed if robbers have invaded a hive. I think the point is that using fondant is less likely to trigger robbing in the first place.

 

[Curly green finger's]

I aim for about 40lb but always end up pulling one or two frames of stores out in the spring.
I’ve never kept Italian bees though.

My 6 frame maisemore poly nucs last year( black bee's) went in to winter weighing average 12.5 kgs they came out of winter 8 to 8.5 I was very surprised. Poly hived colonys use less stores so the 40lb recommendation is out dated IMHO.