• Sassafras Bee Farm
  • About
  • Contact

Beekeeping365

~ The more I studied beekeeping, the less I knew, until, finally, I knew nothing. But, even though I knew nothing, I still had plenty to unlearn. Charles Martin Simon

Beekeeping365

Daily Archives: June 5, 2018

Honey Bee Feeding Considerations during Nectar Dearth by sassafrasbeefarm

05 Tuesday Jun 2018

Posted by sassafrasbeefarm in beekeeping, feeding bees, management

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

beekeeping, feeding bees, management

 

IMAG1302 - Copy

Picture courtesy David MacFawn

 

To feed or not to feed…

If they have enough honey you don’t have to feed. We tell new beekeepers to feed because they need to build comb and often their colonies have not stored enough to weather the dearth period, and ultimately the coming winter. Remember, your bees may eat up a lot of what they have stored during our long Midlands dearth period. Fall nectar flow is often minimal in the Midlands and not to be relied on. If your hive has already built out enough comb and filled it with stores then the decision is yours.

As with most things in beekeeping, try to look forward at least a couple months. If your bees have plenty right now then they won’t starve over dearth but keep a close eye on their stores as dearth progresses. You may find they have eaten up much of what they have stored by late summer. That’s fine and you’ll still have time to feed if necessary before cold weather. However, ignoring them and waiting until the winter is imminent will not give them time to ripen (reduce moisture) syrup given too late in the season so plan accordingly and always look forward a couple months.

Other factors: If you have a weak hive sitting in close proximity to strong hives they may be robbed by the stronger hives. The past few years I have used open feeding at a distance from the hives to give the bees something to gather. The stronger hives seem to dominate the open feeders and I get the impression I’m paying off the stronger hives to prevent them from robbing the weaker. Oh, well.

We had a commercial beekeeper speak at a meeting a few years ago that said he open feeds with buckets but severely limits the amount of feed available by limiting the number of holes on the bottom of the feeder to just a few. The bees know feed is there and work the feeder but it takes a while to drain the feeder. I’ve tried doing this but at some point the limited access creates rather brutal fighting for the syrup. It’s an unpleasant sight.

Fat Bee Man feeds on the hive but limits the number of holes in the lid. He uses a staple gun to punch two small holes in the lid. That, he says, provides them with enough feed to maintain the hive without causing excessive storage of feed or overstimulating brood rearing.

How much is enough? I’ve asked this question to some of our more experienced beekeepers in our association. The reply I have heard most frequently for hive maintainance and to sustain the hive is a quart a week. Of course, it also depends on your goals for the hive. If you made a split then you’ll have to offer them as much as they want. The quart a week is more of a maintainance amount for a typical hive to sustain them over summer dearth.

I spoke with a member at last night’s meeting that has hives at quite a drive from his home. He’s going to try open feeding with a bucket after having a recent small disaster feeding on the hive. I can’t remember the whole situation. I think he may have been using boardman feeders and essential oil mix in the feed. He mentioned he thought that the essential oil might be a mistake when he used it but did so anyway. Yes, it caused robbing. There is, perhaps, a time for feed stimulation but during dearth, when food is scarce is not a time to tempt strong hives to rob weaker hives.

If you want to start feeding do so when they stop bringing in nectar or if they need food based on your assessment of their stores. You can tell if they are bringing in nectar by the way they fly, coming and going at the entrance, and if they are storing nectar in the hive. You can also tell by activity at the hive entrance when the nectar has played out for the day by lack of flying as the day progresses. Yet another test can be made by placing a quart jar with syrup at some distance from the hives (far enough so as to not cause a feeding frenzy around your hives). If the bees show strong interest in the test jar then they are obviously hungry because nectar is far more attractive than sugar syrup. Also, some people with an acute eye for such things can see fat bees returning home with payloads of nectar. Make your best judgement as to whether you need to feed, and how to feed, based on your individual situation.

Advertisement

Feel free to share this on:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Print
  • Pocket
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp
  • Skype

Like this:

Like Loading...
Follow Beekeeping365 on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Calendar

June 2018
S M T W T F S
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
« May   Jul »

Posts by Month:

  • November 2022 (1)
  • September 2022 (1)
  • July 2022 (1)
  • March 2022 (13)
  • February 2022 (17)
  • January 2022 (4)
  • December 2021 (4)
  • November 2021 (7)
  • October 2021 (1)
  • September 2021 (3)
  • August 2021 (11)
  • July 2021 (18)
  • June 2021 (5)
  • May 2021 (2)
  • April 2021 (9)
  • March 2021 (2)
  • February 2021 (5)
  • January 2021 (16)
  • December 2020 (15)
  • November 2020 (15)
  • October 2020 (11)
  • July 2020 (1)
  • February 2020 (1)
  • March 2019 (2)
  • February 2019 (4)
  • January 2019 (1)
  • December 2018 (10)
  • November 2018 (8)
  • October 2018 (15)
  • September 2018 (25)
  • August 2018 (13)
  • July 2018 (11)
  • June 2018 (27)
  • May 2018 (33)
  • April 2018 (20)
  • March 2018 (20)
  • February 2018 (12)
  • January 2018 (22)
  • December 2017 (18)
  • November 2017 (17)
  • October 2017 (25)
  • September 2017 (27)
  • August 2017 (22)
  • July 2017 (29)
  • June 2017 (28)
  • May 2017 (19)
  • April 2017 (17)
  • March 2017 (19)
  • February 2017 (12)
  • January 2017 (13)
  • December 2016 (5)

Posts by Categories:

  • absconding (1)
  • africanized honey bees (1)
  • apitherapy (1)
  • bee health (6)
  • bee law (2)
  • bee lining (2)
  • bee removals (2)
  • beekeeper (5)
  • beekeeper education (16)
  • beekeeping (615)
    • South Carolina (2)
  • beekeeping author (10)
  • beekeeping books (14)
  • beekeeping calendar (5)
  • beekeeping chores (8)
  • beekeeping equipment (25)
  • beekeeping history (49)
  • beekeeping management (38)
  • beekeeping pest management (9)
  • beekeeping seasons (23)
  • beekeeping vocabulary (16)
  • beeswax (13)
  • biography (4)
  • biology (14)
  • birthday (40)
  • birthdays (34)
  • book review (16)
  • breakfast (1)
  • calendar (4)
  • CCD (1)
  • chores (6)
  • comb (7)
  • comb honey (10)
  • commercial beekeeping (2)
  • cutouts (2)
  • dearth (3)
  • defensiveness (2)
  • diseases (9)
  • drawn comb (6)
  • ecology (4)
  • education (28)
  • equipment (25)
  • extracting (1)
  • fall nectar flow (1)
  • famous beekeepers (27)
  • feeding bees (8)
  • first blog entry (1)
  • folklore (1)
  • food (7)
  • forage (4)
  • hacks (3)
  • hive inspections (8)
  • hive placement (2)
  • hive products (6)
  • honey (91)
  • honey as food (23)
  • honey bee anatomy (3)
  • honey bee behavior (25)
  • honey bee biology (43)
  • honey bee genetics (4)
  • honey bee nutrition (1)
  • honey bee photos (6)
  • Honey Bee Research (1)
  • honey bee vocabulary (12)
  • honey bees (14)
  • honey judging (4)
  • honey recipe (68)
  • humor (14)
  • inspections (10)
  • journal (1)
  • log book (1)
  • making increase (3)
  • management (84)
  • mentoring (2)
  • mites (3)
  • national pollinator week (2)
  • nectar flow (6)
  • nomenclature (1)
  • opinion (8)
  • out yards (1)
  • outyards (1)
  • package bees (1)
  • pears (1)
  • pests (18)
  • plants for bees (3)
  • polish (1)
  • pollen (4)
  • pollination (11)
  • pollinators (7)
  • product review (1)
  • production (1)
  • products (3)
  • propolis (2)
  • queens (17)
  • raw honey (7)
  • recipe (91)
  • removals (1)
  • safety (3)
  • sales (2)
  • season (1)
  • seasons (21)
  • sideliner (1)
  • small hive beetles (1)
  • spring buildup (4)
  • state fair (2)
  • sustainable (7)
  • swarms (26)
  • ursurpation (1)
  • usurpation (1)
  • varroa (22)
  • varroa destructor (13)
  • varroa mites (26)
  • Winter (5)
  • winter solstice (2)
  • woodenware (3)
  • yellow jackets (2)

Sassafras Bee Farm on Facebook

Sassafras Bee Farm on Facebook

Sassafras Bee Farm

Sassafras Bee Farm

Recent Posts

  • Midlands Beekeeping Calendar for December
  • Helpful Hints as You Prepare Your South Carolina State Fair Entry
  • Happy Birthday Petro Prokopovych
  • Why did my bees die?
  • Happy Birthday Dr. Wladyslaw Zbikowski

Beekeeping365 on Facebook

Beekeeping365 on Facebook

Top Posts & Pages

  • The Russian Scion
    The Russian Scion
  • A pint is a pound the world around...
    A pint is a pound the world around...
  • Over Wintering Nucs- A Better Way by Michael Palmer
    Over Wintering Nucs- A Better Way by Michael Palmer

Blog Stats

  • 107,449 hits

Website Built with WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Beekeeping365
    • Join 424 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Beekeeping365
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: