The majority of the winter honey bee colony losses are due to starvation. Hives that are low on stores of honey can be fed syrup as a survival measure. The bees are now in a critical period with populations growing and food consumption expanding. Warming weather allows the bees to leave the hive more frequently, and the increased activity consumes greater amounts of stored food. A few bee plants are starting to bloom, but there is not yet a great flow of nectar and pollen. Food in the form of syrup can be fed inside the bee hives at this time to help ensure survival. The syrup can be either sugar or high fructose corn syrup. We generally feed a thin syrup in the early spring rather than a more concentrated syrup like is fed in the fall. The thin syrup is similar to the carbohydrate in the nectar of flowers. The availability of this diluted syrup stimulates the worker bees to scout for food outside the hive. Early in the year the bees will travel great distances to find red maple, elm, skunk cabbage, henbit, dead nettle, and dandelion. Much of their early-season forage is found in river bottoms. Henbit, dead nettle, and dandelion are extremely valuable bee plants available in lawns that are not treated with herbicides.
Medications needed to control honey bee conditions, such as Nosema disease, can be applied in syrup fed in the late winter and early spring before supers are added to collect spring and summer honey. To ensure the medicated syrup is taken up rapidly by the bees, a feeding stimulant containing essential oils is added to the syrup. A new strain of Nosema has been identified as one of the possible contributing factors in Colony Collapse Disorder. Rita is feeding medicated sugar syrup flavored with essential oils of lemon grass, peppermint, tea tree, and wintergreen to a colony of bees that will be used to produce queens later in the spring.
--Richard
Posts
I almost bought those top feeders but I was worried they would rot. What keeps the syrup from rotting the wood?
ReplyDeleteI have used a number of different types of feeders. I prefer the top feeders because they do not seem to encourage the growth of Small Hive Beetles mainly because they don’t hold dead bees like internal feeders, a source of protein for SHB larvae. Top feeders hold a large volume of syrup, plus they offer an advantage for the beekeeper: The bees may be fed without exposing the brood nest. This allows feeding in inclement weather. Of course, they are big and require storage space when they are not being used. They are probably not practical for migratory beekeeping operations.
ReplyDeleteTop feeders come in various designs and materials. Some are wood, and some are plastic. The wooden feeders are durable. I have had no wood rot after a number of seasons of use. Normal wood rot may be retarded by the acidic nature of the feed, which sometimes corrodes the feeder screens. I seal the exterior with polyurethane spar varnish and the interior corner joints with silicone sealant. Sometimes the bottoms will warp causing the loss of the bee space below the feeder. If this occurs, it can be corrected by adding a spacer to the feeder using lathe or lattice wood. If wood rot is a concern, there are a number of nice plastic top feeders available. Many fit inside a wooden super box.
--Richard
When should you stop feeding the colony? My bees have drawn out 3/4 of the both deeps and I'm getting ready to add the first honey super. I'm wondering if I should keep the hive top feeder on top of the honey super.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ed
Ed,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like your hive is off to a good start. You can take the hive top feeder off the hive now that the bees have drawn out the majority of the comb. You won’t need the feeder until you are ready to feed the bees in the fall. By feeding syrup to the bees you helped them rapidly build their brood nest. Now they will draw out the comb in the supers and fill them with as much honey as the nectar flow supplies.
If you use a queen excluder it will help keep the comb in the honey supers clean and free of pupae cocoons and pollen. Clean frames of honeycomb are rarely attacked by wax moths while in storage over winter. Best wishes.
--Richard