Preparing syrups for feeding honey bee colonies is a fundamental practice directly impacting bee health and productivity. The sugar type, water ratio, preparation heat, and any additives determine the feeding’s success. Incorrectly prepared feeds can disrupt bee digestion or cause toxic effects.
Use Scenarios for 1:1 and 2:1 Syrup Ratios
In beekeeping, syrup ratios vary by season and purpose. The 1:1 ratio (one part sugar, one part water) is typically used in spring for stimulation. This mix mimics fresh nectar, accelerating the queen’s egg-laying and brood activity. Conversely, the 2:1 ratio (two parts sugar, one part water) is ideal for fall feeding of winter stores. This thick syrup helps bees expend less energy evaporating water, allowing them to quickly complete their winter reserves.
Syrup Temperature, Caramelization, and Acidification (Lemon, etc.) Limits
The most critical mistake when preparing syrup is boiling the water. When sugar is exposed to high heat (generally above 70 °C), it caramelizes, forming a compound called Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). HMF is toxic to bees, causing digestive issues and mass die-offs. Lukewarm water in the 40-50 °C range is sufficient to dissolve the sugar; the boiling point must be avoided. Acids like citric acid or vinegar are sometimes added to invert the sugar (sucrose) into simple sugars (fructose and glucose) for easier digestion. However, this process can accelerate HMF formation, so it should be avoided without experience or known ratios.
Fall Feeding (Stockpiling/Winter Preparation)
Fall feeding is the vital process of completing winter honey stores for colony survival. Unlike spring stimulation, feeding honey bee colonies during this period targets direct storage, not brood rearing. The timing and syrup density are critical for ensuring the colony overwinters healthy and with sufficient food.
When Does Stockpile Feeding Start and End?
Stockpile feeding should begin immediately after the main nectar flow ends and the final honey harvest is complete. Timing is crucial; bees need a certain ambient temperature to take the syrup, transport it, evaporate the water, and cap it. When nighttime temperatures drop below 10-12 °C, it becomes difficult for bees to draw the syrup. Feeding stops when the bees’ interest wanes and the hive’s winter stock target (usually 15-20 kg of honey in a full-sized hive) is met.
Gradual/Continuous Syrup Feeding vs. Bulk Feeding
Two strategies exist for fall feeding. Feeding small amounts continuously (e.g., small amounts every two days) can encourage the queen to lay eggs. While this increases the young bee population for winter, it slows the process if storage is the main goal. The more common and effective method for stockpiling is bulk feeding (block feeding). This method involves giving the colony a large volume of 2:1 thick syrup at once, such as 3-4 liters. The bees quickly take this thick syrup and focus on storage, diverting them from brood activity.
General Principles / Precautions in Feeding
Methods used in honey bee colony nutrition must protect colony health and minimize potential risks. Attention to timing and application details is essential, especially to avoid triggering robbing. The type of equipment and its placement within the hive also directly affect feeding effectiveness and bee safety.
Evening Feeding, Entrance Reduction, and Leak Control
Robbing is the most feared situation during feeding. Robbing occurs when strong colonies attack weaker ones to steal their stores and can spread epidemically. The golden rule to prevent robbing is to always conduct feeding in the evening hours, when bee flight activity has ended or minimized. Daytime feeding invites bees from other hives that smell the syrup. During feeding periods, all hive entrances must be reduced, regardless of colony strength. Furthermore, ensure feeders do not leak and no syrup is spilled around the hive; even a small drop can initiate robbing.
Feeder Selection and Internal Hive Placement Errors
Feeder selection impacts feeding efficiency. Models include top feeders, frame feeders, or entrance feeders. While practical, top feeders can increase heat loss in cold weather and require bees to leave the cluster. In-hive frame feeders are close to the brood nest but carry a serious drowning risk. To prevent drowning, surfaces must be added for bees to cling to, such as wooden pieces, plastic floats, or coarse straw/grain (wheat, barley). Placing the feeder near the brood nest ensures easy access to the food.
Stimulative Feeding
Stimulative feeding is one of the most critical parts of feeding honey bee colonies. It is generally applied in spring, before the main nectar flow begins. Its purpose is to simulate a natural nectar flow, thereby increasing the queen’s egg-laying capacity and preparing a strong hive population for the main honey season. Proper timing is key to the season’s success.
Planning 6–7 Weeks Before the Nectar Flow
The timing of effective stimulative feeding is based on the bee’s biological cycle. It takes about 21 days for a worker bee to emerge. After emerging, she works inside the hive for about 21 days (cleaning, brood care, comb building) before becoming a forager. This cycle totals 42 days (6 weeks). Therefore, stimulative feeding with 1:1 syrup should begin 6 to 7 weeks before the main nectar flow (e.g., sunflower, chestnut, or pine). This plan ensures the maximum number of foragers is ready when the nectar flow begins.
Risk Management for Excessive Brood and Swarm Tendency
Uncontrolled stimulative feeding can cause more harm than good. Feeding too early or too intensively leads to an excessive brood explosion. If the natural nectar and pollen flow does not start in time to support this population, the colony can quickly face starvation. More importantly, the rapid filling of combs with brood and the surge in young bees cause congestion. This congestion triggers the bees’ natural reproductive instinct: the swarming tendency. Queen cells are built as the colony prepares to divide. A colony that swarms loses half its population, and its honey-gathering capacity drops dramatically.
Solid Feeds (Patties)
Bee patties (cake) are a solid food supplement used in late winter (when too cold for liquid syrup) and early spring (when pollen flow is weak). The main purpose of bee patties is to meet the protein requirement, which is critical for brood-rearing activity. For honey bee colony nutrition, protein is just as essential as carbohydrates.
Pollen Content, Use of Soy/Brewer’s Yeast, and Limits
An ideal bee patty should contain pollen, the perfect protein source for bees. However, pollen can carry spores of serious diseases, like American Foulbrood (AFB). Therefore, any pollen used in patties must be irradiated (sterilized). If sterilized pollen is unavailable or the risk is undesired, protein substitutes are used. Common substitutes include high-protein, low-fat soy flour, brewer’s yeast (inactive), or non-fat milk powder. The proportion of these substitutes in the total mix should generally not exceed the 10% to 15% range; excess can cause digestive problems.
Pattie Consistency, Packaging, and Ease of Consumption
The physical structure of the patty is as important as its content. The consistency must be soft enough for bees to consume easily, but firm enough not to flow or fall apart in the hive. Very hard patties are wasted. Very soft or runny patties can smear onto bees, causing deaths, contamination, and fermentation. The ideal patty has a dough-like consistency. It is usually portioned into 1 kg servings and packaged airtight (e.g., in plastic bags) to prevent drying.
Preparing Patties (Cake)
Preparing homemade bee patties requires extreme hygiene and caution, especially if using honey in the formulation. Honey can potentially harbor spores of bee diseases (especially Nosema and foulbrood). The prepared patty can spread these spores throughout the apiary, sickening healthy colonies. This aspect of honey bee colony nutrition is high-risk.
Honey–Powdered Sugar Ratio and Hygiene-Related Risks
Traditional patty recipes use honey as a binder and sweetener. A common ratio is 1 part honey mixed with 3-4 parts powdered sugar. Powdered sugar is used because granulated sugar is difficult for bees to consume and draws moisture. The critical risk here is the honey’s source. If the honey comes from a colony with American Foulbrood (AFB) spores, the disease will be transmitted to all healthy colonies fed the patty. Therefore, only honey known to be absolutely healthy from one’s own apiary should be used. The safest method is preparing a “honey-free patty” (fondant) using thick (2:1) sugar syrup instead of honey.
Application: Package Slits, Placement, and Seasonal Quantity
Prepared patties are usually placed in 1 kg flat packages on top of the brood frames. The patty’s location should be directly over the bee cluster in winter and over the brood area in spring, allowing bees to access food without leaving the cluster in the cold. To provide access, a few slits are cut, or a window is opened on the package’s bottom surface (facing the bees). The amount given varies by season. A 1 kg patty in mid-winter might last a long time, whereas, during spring stimulation, it may be consumed much faster (within days) as brood activity increases.
Liquid Feeds (Syrup)
Syrup is the most common carbohydrate source for feeding honey bee colonies. However, not every sugary liquid is suitable food. Using alternatives like molasses, brown sugar, or honey can lead to serious health problems and death. Only white granulated sugar (sucrose) should be used.
The Risks of Feeding with Honey/Molasses and Avoidance
Feeding bees with honey instead of syrup is one of the riskiest practices for disease transmission if the honey’s origin is unknown. Honey from a diseased colony can infect all healthy colonies in the apiary. Giving molasses, brown sugar, corn syrup (of unknown type), or other processed sugary foods to bees is strictly wrong. These products contain complex sugars bees cannot digest, as well as high mineral and ash content. These substances accumulate in the digestive systems, especially in winter, causing dysentery (diarrhea) and mass die-offs.
Water Quality, Boiling, and Mixing Protocol
Water for syrup must be of drinking quality, clean, and chlorine-free. Highly chlorinated tap water should be left to sit for the chlorine to evaporate. The fundamental protocol for syrup preparation is to never boil the water. At the boiling point (100 °C) or in excessively hot water (above 70 °C), sugar can produce HMF. Heating the water to about 50 °C is sufficient for the sugar to dissolve. Sugar added to warm water must be stirred thoroughly until dissolved to prevent it from settling and hardening, which causes waste and fermentation.
Preventing Robbing
Robbing, which typically occurs during nectar dearth (fall or dry summer months), is one of the most dangerous and contagious situations in an apiary. It begins when strong colonies attack weak or defenseless colonies for their stores. Once robbing starts, it is very difficult to stop. This part of feeding honey bee colonies is critical, as robbing causes severe bee deaths, rapid disease spread (Varroa, foulbrood), and the complete collapse of weak colonies.
Power Balance in the Apiary and Working Order
Colony strength in an apiary is rarely equal. Robbing tendencies usually start with strong colonies. Beekeepers must follow a protocol: inspect strong colonies first, leaving weak or problematic ones for last. If a weak colony is opened and fed first, the scent can attract foragers from strong colonies and initiate robbing. It is risky for a 10-frame strong colony and a 3-frame weak colony to be side-by-side. Weak colonies should be combined or moved to a more protected area.
Robbing Triggers During Feeding (Scent, Leaks, Timing)
The primary trigger for robbing is scent. The smell of syrup, honey, or patties is a strong attractant. Spilling syrup outside the hive, on the hive cover, or in the apiary during feeding directly triggers robbing. The feeding process must be done meticulously, quickly, and without spills. Feeders must be checked for leaks, and hive covers should not be left open longer than necessary. The most important precaution is timing; feeding honey bee colonies must be done in the late afternoon, after flights have ceased. Daytime feeding is an open invitation to robber bees.
Colony Nutrition
The feeding of bee colonies is a dynamic process that must be precisely adjusted to seasonal needs. In spring, the goal is to stimulate brood and population growth; in fall, the goal is to complete stores for winter. A successful feeding honey bee colonies program must meet both carbohydrate (sugar syrup) and protein (pollen) needs at the right times.
Spring 1:1 vs. Fall 2:1 Application Differences
The 1:1 ratio syrup (equal parts sugar and water) used in spring feeding mimics natural fresh nectar. Its fluid consistency is quickly consumed and stored near the brood area. This signals to the queen that a strong “nectar flow has begun,” encouraging egg-laying (brood activity). In contrast, a thick 2:1 ratio (two parts sugar, one part water) is used in the fall. Bees expend less energy evaporating water to store this thick syrup as winter stores. This reduces bee energy expenditure and lowers the risk of stores fermenting during winter.
Pollen/Protein Supplementation Requirements and Periods
Bee colonies cannot survive on sugar syrup (carbohydrates) alone. They absolutely require protein (pollen), especially to raise brood (feed the larvae). Young bees are fed pollen during their first days. Protein need peaks during two critical periods. The first is emerging from winter (February-March, depending on the region) as brood activity begins. The second is in the fall (August-September) when the resilient, young generation of worker bees that will overwinter is raised. If sufficient fresh pollen is unavailable during these periods, the beekeeper must provide protein supplementation with pollen-substitute patties (solid feed). A Failure to address honey bee colony nutrition regarding protein can halt brood activity, even if a nectar flow is present.
