Feeding bees for the winter using an open method. Feeding bees in winter with sugar syrup for the winter

Autumn is the time to feed the bees before wintering. If the apiary is small, then feeding can be handled using feeders, but if the apiary is large, with 300 or more bee colonies, then to reduce labor intensity it makes sense to use open feeding.

The open method can only feed bees for wintering; medicinal feeding in this way is not recommended, since the dosage of medicinal preparations for the bee colony will not be maintained. One bee colony will take more, another very little, so if you treat it through syrup in a feeder, exactly maintaining the recommended dosage of the veterinary drug. To prevent undesirable phenomena in the form of transmission of diseases between bee colonies, all mandatory veterinary measures and treatments must be carried out in the apiary, in particular, immediately after pumping out the honey and removing the honey cases and extensions, the bees are treated against mites; as a result, by the time the mites are fed, there are very few mites on the bees . In addition, the fight against wasps should take place in the apiary from the beginning of the season, then the wasps will not come in clouds to the tank with syrup and fewer bees will die from philants in the summer.
You need to start feeding this way for the winter as early as possible, but you need to wait until the temperature drops by at least 5 degrees so that the bees “feel that autumn has arrived,” otherwise there will be problems with theft. At the same time, weakened families and weak families are robbed first. Therefore, to prevent theft, immediately after the end of the main bribe, the tapholes are slightly reduced. Also, you cannot feed bees openly if there are neighboring apiaries within the radius of the bees’ flight. In addition, in many regions, the main harvest is the sunflower, or other strong summer honey plant, in which the strength of the colonies sags and the bees need to grow young bees in the winter. It is important to start feeding taking these points into account.

Feeding is carried out at a distance of 15-30 m from the hives. It is better to feed with sugar syrup; if you have inventated sugar syrup, it is even better, you can also feed with honey, using old honey for this or washing the bar. It is advisable to feed with sugar syrup first and if there is honey for feeding, then leave it for last, since by this time there will be noticeably fewer bees and, as a rule, there will be no theft.
The syrup is poured into a large tank, from where the bees take it. To prevent rain from flooding the syrup, the tank is covered with a lid, placing the lid on the boards so that the bees can enter the tank. Some beekeepers, lacking a tank, dig a pool in the ground, cover its bottom and walls with film and pour syrup into the resulting pool. Usually a lot of bees die in a tank with syrup, so beekeepers throw everything that can float into the tank. But it should be remembered that grass or hay causes fermentation of syrup or honey and should not be used categorically. Some people use straw, but it makes sense to use Foreign experience– pour a small layer of pre-washed expanded clay into the tank with syrup. Expanded clay does not sink, floats on the surface, it is made of neutral materials and does not enter into any reactions with syrup or water, in addition, it heats up in the sun, which allows bees to take warm syrup on a cool day.
After finishing feeding, an assessment is made by walking through the apiary and lifting the edge of the hive; a light hive means that the colony is weak and, as a rule, must be disbanded, since in the next season it will still require a lot of effort and the result will be small. Therefore, if some weak bee colony is plundered, then you shouldn’t feel too sorry, it would have to be disbanded anyway. It is better when all the bee colonies in the apiary are equal in strength.

In Canada it is the usual way feeding bees for the winter in industrial apiaries, Canadians claim that there is no bee theft. Canadians are attracted to open feeding of bees for the winter because they have little time to feed bees and because their bees spend the winter in one Rutov housing, so the bees still won’t take more than the Rutov housing. Some Russian beekeepers also practice the open method and quite successfully.
see also

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It seems that the article was written by a person who from the outside observed...the conversation between beekeepers, one part of which talked about the peculiarities of keeping bees in the conditions of their area, and the other about an unsuccessful experience in their conditions. And the author summarized everything and presented it in this work. In my opinion, the material in the article is very far from the truth and can be harmful, especially to novice beekeepers.

Respected beekeeper V. Goncharenko has extensive practical experience, which he acquired over his more than 50 years of experience as a beekeeper. He is a beekeeping enthusiast and we need to follow his example in many ways. Moreover, as long as there are such specialists, we have no shame in learning from them and adopting their many years of experience and listening to every word. In my posts I cited the words of Svetozar Gavrilovich spoken a hundred years ago, expressed in his seven commandments. Try to disagree with them. Moreover, name me today’s practicing beekeepers with such experience and experience? Such specialists can be counted on one hand. In this post I will not enter into controversy, but will cite here another article by this beekeeper, which is very significant for novice beekeepers, of which I include myself. No knowledge - no honey. Over the 52 years of practical work with bees, I have had both ups and downs in this matter. I am more than sure that there is a decline in the development of beekeeping in general in Russia. And not only due to a sharp decrease in the sowing of entomophilous crops and natural food supply due to the replacement of some honey plants with less productive ones, but also as a factor in the lack of knowledge about bees by beekeepers themselves. Having failed, they quit beekeeping. The various types of literature available, as well as printed brochures or books by practitioners about bees, do not all help the novice beekeeper acquire the knowledge he needs. We don't find popular materials in translation foreign literature, useful to our beekeepers. In Omsk, the Agricultural Academy organizes courses, but the price for training is not affordable for everyone. In this regard, I also stuttered about this, whether beekeepers themselves should organize and resolve issues not only about knowledge of the art of beekeeping, but also those closely related to it. Personally, even taking into account my age, I am ready to go to any district of the Omsk region, where I could talk about bees and help novice beekeepers in organizing an apiary, and all those who would like to engage in this very useful activity in the interests of every villager or city dweller. Knowing that bees, through their hard work, cleanliness and neatness, cultivate kindness, which is now so lacking, * many would certainly decide to engage in beekeeping. Even if not 100%, they could ensure their existence with an increase in pension or a meager salary. To realize the need to engage in beekeeping, there is also such a factor that within a radius of 200 m around the apiary, it has a healing effect on all living things. In addition, we could distract that part of young people who are passionate about alcohol, drugs and an idle life. Any energy of bees and beekeepers can be skillfully directed towards improving the lives of human society. Bees perform a service for humans, the economic value of which is much greater than all the products they produce - honey, wax, etc. Sincerely, a beekeeper with 52 years of experience. V. GONCHARENKO, 644009, Omsk, st. 20 years of the Red Army, 202 A, apt. 121

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Well, now on to the substance of your post.

Everything is lumped together, both carbohydrates and proteins... Despite my very few years of experience, I dare to disagree with the author on most of the issues raised.

Of course, you may disagree on many aspects of his article, because you simply did not know about V. Goncharenko’s vast experience. The author’s ability to summarize and present everything in his work, which you yourself admit, just speaks of his great personal experience. The author’s desire to share his experience with us cannot be harmful for beekeepers, especially for beginners. In your opinion and about this you write that the material in the article is very far from the truth. In my opinion, everything is to the point and evidence-based. Believe me, when there are two opposing points of view, the practice of life says that the truth is in the middle.

"IN last years It has become very fashionable to feed and feed bees with sugar." In my opinion, this is not a tribute to fashion at all, but the desire of beekeepers to avoid overwintering bees on honeydew honey and other unsuitable for this... nasty things, sorry. After all, it’s no secret that bees in the fall they try to take honey even from something from which it cannot be taken by definition... And honeydew, and the juice of fruits rotting under the trees, and... the list can go on for a long time. So the question arises, what is better, sending it into the winter on sugar feeding or on honey of unknown origin? If not on sugar, then the bees... will shit themselves in the winter, and woe is the beekeeper - in the spring.

“Therefore, when feeding bees in the winter, they are not able to invert all the sucrose. Their honey, if you can call it honey, is not sealed and not left to sit out, and is not consumed in winter. Due to its hygroscopicity, it absorbs moisture from the exhaled vapors of the bees of the winter club and by spring turns sour. And when bees consume it, NOSEMATOSIS occurs. And after a sharp decrease in secretion, the milk disappears altogether. This is where we need to think about why there are a lot of bees in the spring, but no growth." And it’s sealed, and it sits, and then it’s consumed! Once an old beekeeper told how tons of sugar was transported to collective farm apiaries... during a bribe. His Majesty PLAN... Any unsealed honey can turn sour if the humidity regime in the nest is disturbed. And nosematosis... When wintering on sugar, the likelihood of nosematosis is extremely low, in any case, it (nosematosis) is not caused by sugar. As for milk, its production depends on the presence of beebread in the nest, and not on any other conditions (if sufficient quantity honey, of course).

But here I again disagree with you. Bees do not print unripe honey - they biological feature developed over many millions of years. Such honey, if it can be called honey, is consumed by bees out of desperation, but the result will be disastrous. And the likelihood of awakening smoldering nosematosis greatly increases. That is why even the respected beekeeper V.P. Cebro for the latter autumn feeding adds NOSEMAT and POLYZINE. As for your example with the old beekeeper, it is out of place. Sugar, which was imported in tons and given to the bees, was mainly for scheduled delivery to the warehouse, and not for wintering the bees. The fact that natural honey contains protein food - pollen grains fermented by bees (otherwise just beebread by definition) I think that for you this is indisputable. This is the so-called winter protein food in the liquid phase of honey; it is simply necessary for bees to maintain vital functions, as V. Goncharenko wrote about in his article. It is this fact that the author draws our attention to; “sugar honey” does not contain this protein fraction and this is what weakens the bee during wintering. In the weakened body of the bee, Nosema spores conquer their living space very actively. The result of nosematosis is not only in the bee, but also in the beekeeper. The wear and tear of the bee during sugar processing, wintering on low-quality food (sugar is not a natural winter food for bees) leads to a noticeable decrease in the reproductive ability of the bee and to the manifestation of smoldering diseases, which is what the author writes about. I don’t see your arguments, I think that you also have no experience of the 60s. Thank you for your attention!

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I completely agree with Yu.P. due to individual conditions. I don’t feed sugar out of greed. Maybe I’m doing something wrong, but even if I didn’t take honey at all, they still wouldn’t have enough for the winter...

There is no need to send bees into winter on sugar or honey of unknown origin. They must be sent with good honey. Personally, for this purpose, I leave the first sealed case in May for the bees to overwinter. Usually this honey does not contain honeydew.

In May, our sealed body doesn’t even smell - basically it’s impossible to pump out even a couple of frames... The only period of normal honey collection is July. 20 liters of honey per season is a fairy tale... (I’m even embarrassed to write how much I take). The only thing I want to organize to improve the food of bees is feeding as many colonies with the same sugar during honey harvest and preparing food for the entire apiary for the winter... And I’ve only heard about inventory sugar - where can I get it?

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The fact that natural honey contains protein food - pollen grains fermented by bees (otherwise just beebread by definition) I think that for you this is indisputable. This is the so-called winter protein food in the liquid phase of honey; it is simply necessary for bees to maintain vital functions, as V. Goncharenko wrote about in his article.

I winter on sunflower honey. If the bees sit well in the frames, the honey does not crystallize. And bee bread is not very harvested during the winter. It’s true that we receive fresh food early. The climate is like this. Warm. From fruit trees and herbs. And to be honest, mine can cope with crystals......they will liquefy them as much as they need... B) I saw it with my eyes... :D The truth is at the bottom of the hive....crumbs...

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And to be honest, mine can handle the crystals......they will liquefy them as much as they need... I saw it with my eyes... The truth is at the bottom of the hive....crumbs...

I agree with you, since my striped ones also sprinkle sugar crumbs, overwinter normally and the hives are clean - unworn.

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Dear Petrovich! I in no way intended to offend the author of the article, much less to impose my opinion. My statements are also based not on guesswork, but on the experience of beekeepers with many years of experience, among whom there are those who continue family traditions in beekeeping and the total experience of the dynasty is confidently approaching two centuries... Most likely, beekeeping conditions in Omsk differ significantly from conditions in Kharkov. And in Africa, I read, bees do not store food for wintering, and even zoned breeds of bees in Europe, brought to Africa, after two to three years stop preparing food and their honey productivity noticeably decreases. We will never be able to find the truth in this matter, because... The conditions for keeping bees are completely different. The methodology given in the article is not applicable in the conditions of Slobozhanshchina, which is why I spoke in this way. I also believe that it is futile to develop debate on this topic, given the already international format of this forum. I’ll just express one thought regarding the wintering of bees without bees, based on the opinion of several successful beekeepers with many years of experience, as well as on my own, albeit only three years, observations.

"In the 60s, the hype of keeping bees without bees in the winter did not materialize. It is very important to have bees in the nest all year round PERGU, its quantity depends on the season and the strength of the family." An unsubstantiated statement.

I don’t see your arguments, I think that you also have no experience of the 60s.

Bees consume bee bread exclusively during brood rearing, and since there is no brood in the colony in winter, there is no need for bee bread. Is not it? In the second half of wintering, the bees begin to raise brood, so bee bread is naturally necessary. But here a logical, in my opinion, question arises: - Does the family need early brood? As the observations of practitioners showed after the 60s, in the conditions of Ukraine, no. The presence of early brood increases the load on bees, including feces, and this is dangerous. Colonies with a large number of brood may not survive to fly, this is a common phenomenon, which will be explained further. I wonder if anyone has noticed that in strong families, brood appears much later than in weak ones, despite the presence of beebread in sufficient quantities? This, in my opinion, is logical: strong family can afford not to raise brood early, unlike a weak one, whose instinct of self-preservation is heightened. The presence of brood during the flyless period may rather indicate trouble in the families and poor preparation for winter, when the families have not grown sufficiently. I am a supporter of wintering bees without bees. My families survived even the last very cold and protracted winter without losses and developed normally in the spring. These are the arguments... With great respect and Best wishes, Bortnik.

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Everyone will express their point of view, after expressing their own and reading the point of view of the other, everyone will still remain with their own opinion. And not because everyone is confident in their own, but because there is no correct, axiom, uniform for everyone yet.

Well, don't tell me! In a good argument, even if the truth is not born, everyone will come away with something of their own, at least doubts that they are right. And this is already a lot. And it is precisely such topics where there is no single approach that are especially interesting, at least for me.

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Everyone has the right to express their point of view and have their own opinion.

I fully support and am glad to understand! :bear: :bear: :bear: :D

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I’ve only heard about stored sugar - where can I get it?

I quote an excerpt from the “beekeeper’s handbook” by N.A. Tikhomirova: . “If the reserves of honey in the hives are very small..., then in order to avoid excessive wear and tear on the bees when processing sugar syrup, it is recommended to give them artificial food, in which sugar is in inverted form. It is prepared without the participation of bees from 77% sugar and 23% water. "8-10% flower honey is added to the syrup as enzymes. The mixture is kept at a temperature of 35-40 degrees C for 10-12 days, thoroughly stirring daily (at least twice a day). Frequent stirring allows the feed to ripen faster." I would like to add that invert syrup is actively used in the production of caramel; it takes several hours to mature. I can find out more details if anyone is interested.

Being a beekeeper is not only a special science, but also a subtle art. Every step is important, every action entails the successful development of the apiary or the loss of bee colonies. One of the most complex tasks standing in front of the beekeeper - wintering of bees. One of the most important conditions successful wintering - feeding bees with sugar syrup for the winter. The proportions that are used, the timing and temperature of feeding, and the feeders designed for this will be discussed further.

Rules for feeding bees

The beekeeper faces two main tasks:

• To provide bee colonies with conditions for normal life and to prevent pathology in the development of bees.
• Get a high yield This can only be achieved if the basic condition is met: insects must receive nutrients in the required quantity.

To do this, bee colonies need to provide three conditions:

1. Spring bribe should help the development of viable and strong bees.

2. The main bribe must be long-term and significant in volume so that the bees can effectively use it to obtain beekeeping products.

3. The autumn bribe should be aimed at strengthening and developing the strength of the bee colony.

Features of autumn-winter feeding

If there is not enough natural honey to feed bee colonies, then the bees should be fed with sugar syrup for the winter. The rules for its implementation regulate certain time frames:

1. In August, you should start feeding bees with sugar syrup for the winter. Proportions in sugar syrup: per 1 kilogram of sugar - 1.5 liters of water. Portion for daily use - up to 300 grams per hive. This syrup is intended for old bees, which, having processed it, will die over the winter.

2. Nests for wintering should be ready by September. If bee colonies by this time still need food, then the concentration of syrup should be increased. In such cases, the following 3 to 2 ratio of sugar and water is carried out. The amount of feed also increases: the daily dose is up to three liters. This is necessary to quickly fill the cells.

3. Winter nutrition consists of regular feeding with honey or sugar syrup in a very small concentration. Daily dose - 15-30 grams.

4. When wintering comes to an end, warm syrup is poured into the honeycombs of one frame and the frame is placed in the hive, from where the empty honeycombs are first removed. Then you need to re-insulate the hive.

Feeding bees in autumn

Autumn. Bee houses heading for the winter require replenishment of food supplies, because ahead is a low-active and very difficult period for bee colonies - winter, with all its treachery and mercilessness. In order for the bees to successfully survive it, to be ready to produce viable offspring in the spring and to produce beekeeping products, they must be carefully and timely prepared for the winter period.

Feeding bees with sugar syrup for the winter helps solve several problems:

• prepare the necessary food supplies if the bee colonies are unable to cope with this task themselves;
• reimburse honey that was withdrawn at the end of the main honey harvest;
• replace honey with rapid crystallization and honeydew honey with high-quality syrup;
• give the bees medicinal and prophylactic agents, if necessary.

For effective wintering, the best food is considered natural honey, preferably floral. But it’s not always possible to leave it for the bees. In this case, you have to decide how to feed the bees with sugar syrup.

How to make syrup?

Very important in autumn period To prevent severe wear and tear on the bees, it is important to conserve the energy with which insects break down polysaccharides and seal the honeycomb. They must fulfill necessary work as quickly as possible. In this process, they need the help of a beekeeper - they need to ensure that the bees are fed sugar syrup for the winter; it is advisable to use the following proportions: sugar 3 kg, water 2 liters. This will give a solution that is most convenient for processing by bee colonies - 64%.

One of the options for making syrup:

1. You need to take sugar, definitely light sugar.
2. Pour water into a clean container and bring to a boil.
3. Pour sugar into boiling water and, stirring, dissolve it.
4. You can (but not necessarily) bring the syrup to a boil and immediately remove from heat. It is contraindicated to boil the syrup, because if the sugar burns, it will become unsuitable for bees.
5. Cool the syrup to 30 degrees and distribute to the bees. Bee colonies will be reluctant to take cold syrup.

Exist important points In the process of preparing syrup, you need to pay attention:

1. It is recommended to use soft water. The fact is that in hard water the rate of syrup crystallization increases. If hard water is used as a basis, then first it must be settled and only after that the process of preparing the syrup begins.
2. In order to bring the sugar syrup closer to the acidic reaction characteristic of flower honey, it is necessary to pour into the syrup acetic acid(70%) in proportion per kilogram of sugar - 0.3 grams. This proportion will bring additional benefit - it will provide a preventive effect against nosematosis.

The amount of feed is the key to successful wintering

The bee colony must be provided with food in such quantities that will enable each bee to successfully overwinter. But it is not always possible to correctly calculate the amount of feed required for this. In such a situation, a convenient way out is to give food in large quantities. If the food is not used in full, it can be used for the spring development of the bee colony.

It should be noted that when feeding bees with sugar syrup for the winter, it is necessary to calculate the proportions of food for a specific bee colony, taking into account certain factors:

• in which region is the apiary located: in the south there is a shorter winter, therefore, in such regions in the south, less food reserves are needed;
• whether wintering takes place on the street or in a winter hut: if so, they need more food than during wintering in an omshanik;
• family strength: a family that winters, for example, on eight frames, needs much more carbohydrate reserves than a family that spends the winter on five frames.

The frames that are installed in the nest for wintering must contain food in an amount of over two kilograms with a total amount of food product of 9-15 kilograms. Some beekeepers, giving recommendations on how to ensure that bees are fed with sugar syrup for the winter, advise increasing food supplies to 30 kg.

In order to process sugar syrup, bees spend large amounts of energy, so part of the food is used to restore the expended energy. Because of this, not all of the processed syrup ends up in the honeycombs. This should also be taken into account when answering the question of how to feed bees with sugar syrup for the winter.

When to fertilize?

Beginning beekeepers are often concerned about the question of when to start feeding bees with sugar syrup for the winter. The deadline for completing the process must be unchanged - no later than September 10, the beginning of the process is August, this period is regulated by the time of the end of the main bribe and the end of pumping out honey.

This is explained by the fact that bees wear out during syrup processing. As a result of this, those insects that process it will not be able to survive until spring. Only young bees that were in the brood stage in the fall will survive the winter.

If the feeding process continues throughout September, two serious problems may arise:

1) Young bees will join the syrup processing process; they will also wear out during feed processing and will not survive the winter.

2) If syrup-nectar flows into the nest for a long time, the queen will perceive this as a signal that the bribe continues, and she will worm, that is, lay more eggs long time. The newly emerged bees, due to the established cold weather, will not have time to make their first flight, as they will emerge from the brood late. They will leave feces in the hive, and the bees will not take honey from these honeycombs. In addition, this can lead to the appearance of nosematosis.

The result will be disastrous - the family will die.

If everything is done correctly, then at the moment when there is enough food and the nectar stops flowing, the queen will stop laying eggs.

The conclusion is clear: feeding bees with sugar syrup for the winter should be carried out in early dates. Proper feeding will have a beneficial effect on both the young and the new generation, because young insects will not need to spend effort on producing a new generation.

Which feeder to choose?

Necessary for feeding bee colonies. When it comes to feeding bees with sugar syrup for the winter, feeders deserve special attention. In modern beekeeping, the feeder is an element of the hive. In a personal beekeeping farm, the choice remains with the beekeeper.

Feeders come in different types and are installed in different ways:

• Frame feeder. A small box made of wood or plastic that can hold liquid. The width is greater than the width of the hive frame, so it protrudes from the bee house. The syrup is poured into the frame through a funnel and then hung in the hive near the nest.
• Summer feeders. They are installed on the arrival board, with an inverted container filled with food placed inside.
• Capacitive feeders. The liquid is held by a vacuum. It is fixed above the bees, the syrup comes out of the small holes made. You can use jars as such feeders.
• Miller's feeder. Installed on top of the hive subject to careful fitting. There is an entrance for bees.
• Open feeders. Open containers into which syrup is poured. They are placed near the entrance to the hive.
• Raft feeder. Made from plywood, used with an open, large-volume barrel feeder.
• Bottom feeder. A wooden partition block is placed inside the hive near the entrance. Syrup is poured into the gap formed.

Bag feeders

You can provide bees with sugar syrup for the winter in plastic zipper bags. You can use the most common plastic bags, but of good quality - this is important to avoid the package breaking.

Syrup is poured into the bags, which the bees suck out through cuts made with a sharp blade. When the syrup poured into the bag has cooled, excess air is released from the bag and tied in a knot 3 centimeters above the syrup. There is no need to make cuts in the bags, since the bees themselves can gnaw through the thin film to get to the food. The packages are placed on the upper bars of the frames. Then the tied bag is sprinkled with the prepared syrup, showing with stripes where the complementary foods are located.

The feeder can be used at low air temperatures, since it is heated by the bee colony itself. The dose for using sugar syrup at a time should be given taking into account the strength of the bee colony. So, a bee colony, which has great strength, can process up to 6 liters of syrup in one night; in the spring this amount will decrease.

The cost of such a feeder consists only of the price of the package itself. The only drawback is that such bags can only be used once, and replacing it with a new one requires disturbing the bee colony.

Forced feeding in winter

Sometimes at the end of January there is a need to carry out additional fertilizing in winter time. Such feeding is a forced and undesirable measure.

For beginner beekeepers, deciding the issue On how to feed bees with sugar syrup in winter, the instructions will not be superfluous:

1. If there is a need to carry out forced feeding, then to minimize negative consequences You should choose a type of food that will not cause unnecessary agitation of the bee colony and will not cause diarrhea.
2. When giving food, it is necessary not to disturb the peace of the club and, if possible, to prevent the bee colony from leaving the hive.
3. Winter feeding is best done using thick feed: sugar candy or fudge. They are placed above the bee club.
4. If it is necessary to feed bees with sugar syrup for the winter, at what temperature this can be done is an important question. This feeding will be successful if the temperature in the winter hut is from 3 to 5 o C.
5. Honeycombs, jar feeders, ceiling feeders are filled with sugar syrup at a temperature of 25-30 o C and placed close to the bee club, the ceiling is covered and the hive is insulated.
6. If low temperatures in the winter hut make feeding impossible, then it is necessary to transfer the bee colonies for a day to a specially prepared dark room where the temperature is set to 25 o C. This activates the bees, which leave the winter club and actively disperse throughout the entire area of ​​the nest, looking for food.
7. A day later, the bee colony is taken back to the winter hut, and a new batch in need of feeding is brought in its place.

Sugar syrup - successful wintering

Feeding bees with sugar syrup for the winter will be successful if striped bees are given the opportunity to assimilate it well.

When feeding, you should keep in mind that a certain number of bees will in any case die or leave the hive. And what worse weather, the more likely they are to get lost. This is explained by the fact that bees negatively perceive an invasion of their personal territory. These losses are almost impossible to avoid, but they can be minimized.

To do this, bees must be fed correctly with sugar syrup for the winter; feeding rules must be followed, taking into account the required amount of sugar syrup and taking into account the timing and temperature of feeding. Only if all conditions are met will the honey be of high quality and the bees will be viable.

You might think that this is easier than steamed turnips - what questions could there be? But in reality this is a varied and complex issue.

Firstly, WHEN to feed?

"Question: When is the best time to feed bees?

"Answer: It's best to never feed them, but every beekeeper has his own story. If the season is bad, as happens from time to time in different regions, then it is necessary to feed. The best time to do this is as soon as you realize that the bees will not have enough supplies for the winter - say, in August or September. October is also good, and even if you make it to December, it’s better to feed them then than to make them starve.”

S.S. Miller, "A Thousand Answers to the Beekeeper's Questions", 1917

In my opinion, there are many reasons to avoid nursing if possible. It causes theft. It attracts insects (ants, wasps, etc.). It clogs the nest and causes swarming. It drowns a lot of bees.

Some people feed package bees throughout the first year. In my experience, this usually results in them releasing the swarm when they are not strong enough, and often dying. Some feed in spring, autumn and during dry periods, regardless of whether the bees have reserves or not. Some don't feed at all. Some people take all the honey in the fall and try to feed the bees with syrup so that they can survive the winter.

Personally, I do not feed bees during the bribe period. Collecting nectar is what bees have to do. They need an incentive to do it. I will feed them in the spring if their supply is depleted, because they will not breed brood without sufficient supplies. I will feed them in the fall if they don't have enough honey, but I always ask myself, did I take too much honey, leaving too little for them? Some years it gets to the point where there is no autumn harvest at all, and the bees are on the verge of starvation if I don’t feed them. When I need to hatch a queen during a dry spell, I sometimes have to feed them to get them to build cells and force the queen to fly out and mate. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with feeding if you do it according to for the right reasons, but my plan is to avoid this and leave enough honey for the bees to live on.

Feeding pollen usually makes sense until pollen appears in the spring. Here (Nihawk, Nebraska) it's usually mid-February. I have not been able to get bees to accept pollen at any other time. Feeding brings the most benefit in the fall, when the autumn honey harvest has failed and I need to provide wintering for the young bee colony. In the spring, by the time the brood hatches, the maple, as a rule, is already blooming.

Stimulant feeding

Many great beekeepers believe that this is unproductive:

"By now the reader has formed the idea that stimulant feeding - unless it is for the purpose of obtaining elongated combs in the nest - plays no part in the scheme of beekeeping. This is in fact so." - "Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey", brother Adam.

"Many people today believe that you can cheat brood rearing and increase your numbers much faster by feeding the bees a cup of syrup a day, and this is more effective than any other method. But after thirty years of experimentation in this field, I come to the conclusion that this an erroneous judgment based more on theory than on practice. Having separated a number of colonies in the same apiary, I fed half of them, while leaving the others plenty of honey and not feeding, and then compared my observations about how which half came to the beginning of the harvest season with better results. The results clearly demonstrate that an adequate supply of honey leads to a significantly more productive harvest than what is known as stimulating feeding" - "A year of work in a country apiary", G. M. Dolittle.

"Perhaps the only one truly important aspect beekeeping to achieve colony strength, and yet the most neglected, is to ensure that the weight of the hives in the fall indicates sufficient reserves so that after wintering the bees can raise strong brood in the spring" - "The ABCs of Beekeeping", Richard Taylor.

"More and more beekeepers are now questioning the value of early spring feeding to stimulate brood hatching. This is especially true in northern states when weeks of thaws are followed by sudden frosts. The average beekeeper in mid-latitudes will benefit more from selective feeding in the fall - in a quantity sufficient to ensure that these reserves last until the start of the honey harvest. If the hives are well protected and the reserves are abundant, a rapid increase in the number in the spring will occur by itself, without artificial stimulation. The only exception, when feeding is recommended in the spring, is the period of drought between the first bribe and the beginning of the main honey collection." -- "Beekeeping for experienced beekeepers", V.Z. Hutchinson.

"While it is often preached that stimulant feeding should be resorted to as early as possible, the author is of the opinion that for colony growth, having a supply of sealed honey in the hive is just as effective as stimulant feeding. It sometimes appears that Uncorking part of the honey reserves has a stimulating effect, but the need to feed small portions in order to stimulate the bees to be more active is extremely rare." -- " Practical breeding queens", Frank Pellett, Practical breeding of queens..

Here's what I learned from my experience with stimulation feeding.

Over all these years, I have probably tried all possible options, and came to the conclusion that, first of all, the success or failure of stimulating feeding depends on the weather. Some years it seems to help a little. Other times it confuses the bees, causing them to breed too much brood too early, when frost can cause disaster or the humidity in the hive is too high. Also, stimulating feeding usually brings impressive results if there is a shortage of reserves in the hives in the spring. Leaving the bees more reserves still seems to me a more reliable method to provide more early brood, at least in my climate zone.

Here in the north, stimulating feeding is not easy to even do, and the results can range from disastrous to spectacular. The problem is that there are too many variables in beekeeping and I don't want to this moment go deeper into this issue.

I'll skip the details of what to feed and boil it down to my experience with stimulating brood production. At the same time, I will not touch upon the issue of “honey versus sugar”, etc., which is already well-worn.

I have experience feeding very weak (1:2), weak (1:1), medium (3:2 or 5:3) and thick (2:1) syrup at each time of the year, except for the bribe period, however, again, to simplify the matter to stimulating brood production, let's focus on the spring.

I did not see that the difference in the ratio of syrup components affected the stimulation of brood hatching. The bees will eat any option if it is warm enough (and most of the time it is) and sometimes this will give them an incentive to hatch brood at a time when the bees feel it is still too early. So let’s simplify the question even more and talk only about whether or not to feed with syrup.

The problem with getting bees to accept syrup in the early (and late) season in northern latitudes is:

If you try to feed any type of syrup in late winter or early spring in my climate, usually they won't eat it. The reason is that the temperature of the syrup is hardly more than 50° F (10° C). At night, temperatures range between 0° C and -18° C. Daytime temperatures are usually not much higher, except when they actually rise to 50° F (10° C). However, the temperature of the syrup after last night is still below zero. So for starters, trying to feed syrup in late winter or early spring usually won't work as the bees won't eat the syrup.

From failure to success

Next, if you're lucky enough to get a warming spell, in those parts where the weather stays warm enough for long enough for the syrup to become warm enough for the bees to accept it, you'll be able to get them to hatch a huge batch of brood, sometime in late February or early Martha. But then suddenly there will be frost for a whole week - and all the hives that were set up to raise brood will die in their attempts to preserve this brood. They will die because they cannot leave him and cannot warm him, but they will still try. In our area, frosts can be quite severe (below -10°F or -12°C) and strike at any time until the end of April: last year there were frosts in mid-April here and throughout much of the country.

The coldest temperature recorded here in the warmest part of Nebraska was -25°F (-32°C) in February. In March -19°F (-28°C). In April 3°F (-16°C). In May 25°F (-4°C). In our area, frosts in May are common. I myself saw a snowstorm on May 1st. So I have serious doubts not only about the effectiveness of syrup feeding, but also about the fact that feeding in advance in order to cause earlier brood hatching is reasonable for the bees in any case.

Unpredictable result

The result may vary dramatically from year to year. Of course, if your risks pay off, and you manage to get the bees to brood in March, prevent swarming in April (which is unlikely), and there will be no frost that will destroy several hives on the stand, or they will brood so much that by the time they freeze they will be able to keep themselves warm, and you will be able to maintain these increased numbers until the harvest begins in June - in which case, you may reap a stunning harvest. On the other hand, if they multiply heavily in March and then get a long cold spell below zero for a week or more, most of them will die, and that's a whole different story.

In climatic conditions different from mine, the situation may be completely different. If you live in a place where temperatures below freezing are unheard of and the bees are not freezing to the brood in an attempt to warm it, unable to reach the reserves, then the results of stimulating feeding can be much more predictable and positive.

Dry sugar

In my experience, the difference between feeding syrup and dry sugar is huge. The vast majority of my hives eat all the sugar. Some people eat most of the sugar. They actually multiplied as a result of eating it, and they ate it even when it was cold. It’s not that they became addicted to it and it’s not that the increase in numbers was explosive, but the positive result was obvious to me. A moderate increase in numbers, while they can create a small supply of food for themselves in the cold, is a much more positive scenario in terms of the likelihood of survival than an explosive brood during a period of severe prolonged frosts, when they cannot get food.

Feeder type

I have to admit that the type of feeder also matters. The top feeder is completely useless in the spring. The syrup is barely warm enough for the bees to eat. However, if you use bags as a feeder, they are quite capable of allowing the syrup to warm up to the desired temperature. A frame feeder (even though I can't stand them) placed opposite a cluster of bees is much more accepted than overhead feeders (but not as good as bag feeders). In my climate, any feeder that is located too far from the club is practically useless until the weather settles at 10 degrees Celsius, and since flowers usually bloom by this point fruit trees and dandelions, feeders are no longer needed.

You can give them some syrup in late March/early April using bag feeders or a jar, or place a bucket directly over the club if nothing else works.

Secondly, WHAT to feed?

My choice - leave honey for the bees. Some people believe that you should feed only honey. From a perfectionist's perspective, I like this idea. From a practical point of view, this is difficult for me. Firstly, honey provokes theft much more often than syrup. Secondly, honey spoils much faster if you dilute it with water, and I hate to see honey go to waste. Thirdly, honey is quite expensive (if you buy it or not sell it), and the labor to extract it is quite difficult. So I'd rather leave them enough honey in the combs by stealing some honey from the strong hives and putting it in the weak ones instead of feeding them. But if need forces me to feed, I will feed with old crystallized honey, if I have it; if not, I will feed with syrup.

Pollen

Another answer to the question “WHAT” is, of course, pollen or its substitute. Bees on natural pollen are healthier, but the substitute is cheaper. I usually don't feed bees pollen or pollen substitutes, but if I have to, I try to use natural ones. Sometimes I can't afford it, so I mix pollen and substitute 50:50. When feeding only a substitute, the life expectancy of bees is greatly reduced and therefore I do not see any advantages in it at all.

Third, How many give?

It is best to ask your local beekeepers how much supplies the bees need to get through the winter. In our area, when working with the Italian breed, I focus on the fact that each hive should weigh from 45 to 68 kg. With the Karnika breed - 34-45 kg. When breeding wild bees, 23-34 kg may be sufficient. More is always better than less, but that doesn't mean more is better.

It seems to be a common misconception that feeding with syrup can’t do any harm, and often beekeepers feed for the sake of feeding or because it’s autumn and it’s necessary to feed in the fall. But syrup DOES harm in several ways. This is certainly better than starvation, but if the bees no need, then it is much better not to feed.

Another mistake, despite the fact that the fact of feeding itself is not the goal, is to feed the bees continuously throughout the fall. In the end, this leads to the fact that the bees have nowhere to gather in a club, and the humidity in the hive becomes so high that forced dehumidification is indispensable. And then people don’t understand why they lose entire hives in winter.

Bees need a place to form a club on empty combs, where they can climb up the cells and compact the club. The club is often compared to a “ball of bees,” but people forget that among the bees there are also honeycombs, and in order to gather into a dense ball, they climb up the cells, which is impossible if the cells are filled with syrup.

So, you need to feed until the hives reach the desired weight. Which one exactly - you will understand from own experience and from the recommendations of local beekeepers about what the weight of the hive should be for successful wintering, depending on the breed of bees - from Italian to Carnica, etc. Determine how much is enough, but don't overdo it. You want them to have enough reserves just before the first nectar appears, and most of reserves are consumed precisely in the last month before this.

Fourth, HOW to feed?

There are more feeding plans than there are options for any other aspect of beekeeping. To begin with, my attitude towards the very fact of feeding is distributed on a love/hate scale, so it is not surprising that my attitude towards feeding methods is also based on a love/hate scale.

What should you consider when choosing a feeder?

How much labor will be required when feeding? For example, will you have to wear a protective suit? Open the hive? Remove covers or housings? How much syrup goes into the feeder? How many trips to a country apiary will need to be made to prepare the hives for winter? In other words, 20-liter feeders will only need to be filled once. If the volume of the feeder is only half a liter or a liter, you will have to fill it several times.

Will bees be able to eat if it's cold? If the weather is warm, then almost any feeder will do. Only a few will be suitable if the weather is average, that is, around 40°F (4°C) degrees at night and around 50°F (10°C) during the day. No feeder makes sense if the low temperature is set for a long time.

How much does it cost? Some methods are quite expensive (good top feeders can cost up to $20 each) and some are quite cheap (converting a bottom board into a feeder can cost as little as $0.25 per hive).

Will this cause theft? For example, entrance feeders are notorious for this very thing.

Will bees drown? Is it possible to reduce this probability? Many bees are known to drown in frame feeders, and many beekeepers add rafts or a ladder, or both, to reduce the number of drownings.

Does the feeder make it difficult to get into the hive? or will it interfere? For example, when using the top feeder, you will have to remove it to get into the hive, and at this moment it wobbles quite a lot and the syrup spills.

Is it difficult to clean the feeder? The syrup will spill, causing the feeders to become moldy. If bees are at risk of drowning in the feeder, it will need to be cleaned from time to time.

There are many options for such feeders. Very ancient feeders were made of wood. The old ones are made of smooth plastic, and many bees have drowned in them. Newer ones are mostly made of black rough plastic so that the edges can serve as a ladder for bees. If you place a piece of wood chips inside (like a small raft for bees) or a piece of 8-gauge metal mesh (like a ladder), fewer bees will drown in it. It is necessary to take into account that the width of the feeders takes up more space than one frame - they are as wide as one and a half frames, so they do not fit into standard intervals and therefore stick out. Similar feeders from Brushy Mt. Made from masonite, they have narrower entrances, built-in #8 metal mesh as a ladder for bees, and at the same time they fit into the width of one frame and do not stick out. Betterbee has a similar feeder, but it's made of plastic. I've never had one of these, but I've heard complaints about them - that their ears are too short, so they fall out of the frame guides. If you do them correctly, then their other name is applicable to them - “dividing boards - feeders”. But to do this, they must divide the hive into two parts and at the same time have separate entrances with different sides hive. Some people make real “feeder separation boards” with their own hands and use them to make two four-frame nucs with a common feeder from one ten-frame hive.

Summer feeders.

These feeders are included in all kits for beginning beekeepers. They are installed on the arrival board and an inverted one and a half liter container is placed in them. Personally, I would leave the lid and throw away the container itself. They are notorious as a cause of theft. They are easy to keep track of, but to fill the container you have to shake off the bees and open the feeder.

These feeders work on the same principle as water coolers or any other container, where the liquid is held inside by a vacuum (or, in other words, technical language, is held by the force of air pressure acting on it). For feeding bees, a one and a half liter container (for example, such as on summer feeders), a paint can with holes made in it, a plastic bucket with a lid, a liter bottle, and so on are suitable. You just need to somehow secure it above the bees and make small holes from which the syrup will come out. The benefits of this type of feeder depend on how you install it and how large a container you use. If you use a five-liter container, you won’t have to refill it often. If the container is only one and a half liters in volume, you will have to replenish supplies much more often. If the container leaks or the temperature changes suddenly, the container can either leak and drown the bees, or “freeze” them. Most often, such feeders are inexpensive, and much fewer bees drown in them than in frame feeders, provided. that they don't leak. And if you also cover the holes through which the syrup flows with a fine-mesh metal mesh, then when you need to add syrup to the container, there will not be a single bee in it.

Named in honor of S.S. Miller. There are several options. All of them are installed on top of the hive and require a tight fit to prevent thieves from climbing into the hive through the top and drowning in syrup. Some options have an open entrance that allows bees to enter. Some have a narrow entrance, covered with mesh from the inside so that the bees have room only to get the syrup. The entrance can be anywhere - sometimes on the side, sometimes on both sides, sometimes in the center parallel to the frames, and sometimes across the frames. It makes sense to use them either because they are easier to make and only need to fill one compartment, or because they provide easier access for bees (through the center) or even better (through the frames) so that the bees can easier to spot the feeder. The higher the feeder, the less suitable it is for use at low temperatures, but the more syrup it contains - some contain up to 25 liters of syrup. This is convenient for a country apiary in warm weather, but becomes unsuitable if the nights are cold. Some feeders only hold about three liters. For cooler weather, it is better to use shallow feeders with a center entrance than deep feeders with a side entrance. A round feeder is essentially the same thing, only it round shape and is installed on the hole in the inner cover. The biggest inconvenience when using it is that you have to remove it to access the hive, and this is quite difficult if it is full. The advantage is that it holds a lot of syrup, and (provided the hole is covered with mesh) it is easy to fill without having to wear protective gear or disturbing the bees.

Used when the open feeder is a 5 gallon (19 liter) drum. Made from 1/4" (6mm) varnished plywood. No matter what I do, the bees still drown in the feeders. If you decide to use this type of feeder, make sure there are enough barrels so the bees don't crowd around the bottom trying to eat With more barrels I lose far fewer bees than with few barrels.If there are other apiaries in the neighborhood, using open feeders may not be practical.

This is the version of the feeder that Jay Smith came up with. It's just a partition made from wooden block 3/4" by 3/4" (19 x 19 mm), placed inside the hive about an inch (2.5 cm) from the entrance (approximately 18" or 46 cm from the back wall). The box pulls out just enough to create a gap. Syrup pours into this gap. You can use a small board to block the back entrance. The bees will then be able to exit the hive through the front entrance by simply walking behind the partition. This photo was taken standing behind the hive and looking directly at the front of the hive. The feeder is empty in the photo, so you can see the partition and everything else. The edges of the partition are additionally highlighted in the photo to make it clearer. This version of the feeder is not suitable for a weak hive, since the syrup is too close to the entrance - just as many bees drown in it as in the frame one feeder

My version of Jay Smith's feeder

I modified it a little to make the entrance on top and the feeder on the bottom. These feeders were made from standard bottom boards from Miller Bee Supply. The gap at the top is 3/4" (19 mm), at the bottom - 1/2" (13 mm). This good decision for the wintering period, since I can put newspaper and dry sugar on top, or put pollen cakes without crushing the bees. I was a little worried about condensation so I added a drain tube. It is also useful for draining bad syrup. In addition, this design allows you to stack the nucs on top of each other and feed them all without opening or rearranging them. So far I have about the same number of bees drowning as with standard frame feeders. The syrup has to be poured very slowly, and if the bees are so crowded in the hive that they crowd on the bottom, then it may be worth adding another housing to give them extra space. I'm thinking of making a raft out of 1/4" (6mm) plywood.

From left to right:

Bottom of the feeder. The rail serves to reduce the entrance to the hive, which is located under it.

The top of the feeder. The partition in the front prevents the syrup from leaking out. The support rail holds metal mesh#8 (3 mm mesh) so that it does not sag. The mesh allows you to pour syrup without giving the bees the opportunity to fly out. Drainage pipe allows condensation to be released in winter and rainwater if it gets inside. I coated the feeder with wax and sealed the cracks with wax pipe putty. You can simply melt some wax and pour it around the feeder to seal it.

In the photo where the feeder is installed in the housing, you can see where the syrup is poured. If you are not stacking the cabinets on top of each other, the syrup pouring area can be at the front or rear of the cabinet. If the housings are stacked on top of each other, then all sides for pouring should be in the front.

Multi-storey placement option, where you can see the core entrances in the lower part of the buildings.

A multi-story placement option with a canopy over the pouring area to protect it from rain. These are 1/2" (13mm) plywood scraps, but you can use anything as long as the wind doesn't blow them away.

Bag feeders

These feeders are simply large bags with a plastic zipper, which are filled with syrup, placed on the top bars of the frames and in which two or three small cuts are made with a razor blade. The bees suck the syrup until the bag is empty. To provide space for the bags, you need something like a box - an upside-down Miller feeder or just an empty magazine extension will do. The advantages of such feeders are their low cost (that is, the cost of the packages themselves) and the fact that such feeders work in cold weather, since the club itself heats them. The disadvantage is that to replace the bag you have to disturb the bees, and also that the bags can only be used once.

Open feeders

These are simply large open containers with “rafts” (nut shells, straw, etc.) filled with syrup. They are usually placed quite far from the hives - 100 yards (91 meters) or more. The advantage is the ability to spend a minimum of time on feeding, since you do not need to approach each hive. The disadvantage is that at the same time you feed your neighbor’s bees too, and sometimes this gives rise to theft, and sometimes many bees drown from greed.

Box of caramel

This is a box the height of a third of the body with small caramels poured into it. It is placed on top of the hive for the winter and the bees eat it when they get out of the hive and need to refresh themselves. They are very popular in our area and do an excellent job.

Fudge

It can be placed on the top bars of the frames. It is also more suitable for emergency feeding. Bees will only eat it if there is nothing else at all. The effect is similar to that of a box of caramel.

Dry sugar

There are several ways to feed them. Some people just pile it up against the back wall of the hive (definitely not recommended with screened bottom boards - the sugar will just spill through them onto the ground). Some people put it on top of the inner lid. Some people put newspaper on top of the top bars of the frames, place the body on top and sprinkle sugar on top (like in the photo above). Others put it in a frame feeder (black rough plastic type is recommended). I even tried removing two empty frames from the eight-frame case and pouring sugar in their place (with the bottom board intact, of course). For screened bottom boards or small hives that need a little help, I pull out a few empty frames, put a few sheets of newspaper in the space created and sprinkle a little sugar, sprinkling it lightly with water to make it heavier and not fall apart, and a little more sugar on top until until the space is filled. Sometimes, if you don't add water to the sugar, the cleaning bees will take the sugar out of their hive, treating it as trash. If you moisten it a little with water, the bees are more likely to be interested in it. The better the quality of sugar, the better the bees accept it. If you can get your hands on "baker's" sugar, bees will accept it better than regular sugar, but it is harder to find and more expensive.

What type of sugar should I use?

I have always said that it doesn’t matter what sugar is made from - sugar beets or cane. But this was before the agricultural industry began growing genetically modified beets and treating its seeds with neonicotinoids. Therefore, now I would use cane sugar and closely follow the news, as they are talking about similar innovations in cane growing.

However, the difference between white granulated sugar and other types is fundamental. Powdered sugar, brown sugar, molasses and any other type of unrefined sugar are harmful to bees - they cannot tolerate solid food.

Pollen is fed in two ways: either it is poured dry into open feeders, or cakes are prepared (mixing pollen with syrup or honey to a dense mass and pressed between sheets of wax paper). The cakes are placed on the top bars of the frames. You can use a small wedge to make room for the flatbreads. I usually feed open dry.

Ratio of components in syrup

Standard - 1:1 in spring and 2:1 in autumn (sugar:water). Some people often use other proportions for their own reasons. Some people use 2:1 in the spring because it makes it easier to transport and stores better. Some people use a 1:1 ratio in the fall because they believe it stimulates brood production and they want more young bees in the hive when winter comes. The bees will still do it their way. Personally, I usually use syrup at a ratio of 5:3 (sugar:water) at any time of the year. It is stored better than in a 1:1 ratio and sugar dissolves faster than in a 2:1 ratio.

Another question is how to measure components: by weight or volume. If you have a good scale, you can find out for yourself. Take a one-pint container, weigh it empty (so you can subtract its weight later) and fill it with water - the water will weigh about one pound. Now take a dry pint container, weigh it empty (so you can subtract its weight later), fill it with dry white sugar and weigh it - it will also weigh about one pound. So I take it very simply. From the point of view of preparing syrup for bees, this error is not important. You can mix and see what happens. As a guide, a pint is equal to a pound, at least as far as water and dry white sugar are concerned, and as long as you don't mix them. Therefore, if you take 10 pints of water, boil it and add 10 pounds of sugar, the result will be the same as if you took 10 pounds of water and 10 pints of sugar. And if you use the metric system, then a liter of sugar weighs about one kilogram, just as a liter of water weighs one kilogram. All this, of course, is a very convenient coincidence...

The next question is how much syrup you end up with. With 5 liters of water per 5 liters of sugar, you will get approximately 8.5 liters of syrup, not 10, since water and sugar interact during the cooking process.

Please note that measure required quantity each component is necessary before you mix them. In other words, if you fill the container 1/3 with water, then another 1/3 with sugar, the result will not be a 1:1 ratio, the syrup will be more like 2:1. Likewise, if you fill the container 1/3 with sugar, and then another 1/3 with water, then the syrup concentration will actually be somewhere around 1:2. It is important to measure the required amount of components separately and only then mix them to obtain the correct proportion. Personally, it’s easiest for me to measure water in liters and sugar in kilograms, since sugar is sold in packages where its quantity is indicated in kilograms, and liters are most suitable for measuring the amount of water. So if you have 5 kilograms of sugar and you decide to cook a 1:1 concentration syrup, then measure out 5 liters of water, boil it and add 5 kilograms of sugar.

How to make syrup

Personally, I boil water and add sugar, and when it is all dissolved, I turn off the stove. Preparing the syrup in a 2:1 ratio may take time. In any case, boiling water allows you to store the syrup longer, since heat kills bacteria and microorganisms that may be in syrup or water.

Moldy syrup

If there's not much mold, I don't care, but if the syrup smells too weird or there's too much mold, I throw it away. If you are using essential oils(I personally don't) they help prevent mold. Some people add various additives to the syrup to combat mold and keep the syrup longer: Clorox, distilled wine vinegar, vitamin C, lemon juice and so on. All this, except Clorox, makes the syrup more sour and closer to honey in terms of acidity (lowers pH). And I don’t trust anything that can negatively affect the bees’ intestinal microflora.

Michael Bush, 2007

In the intervals between rains, I examined several families - I did not find any open brood or eggs. But where should they be? Two weeks of cold rainy weather have yielded their results - there is not even the slightest bribe, the queens have stopped laying eggs. I was finally convinced that I could start feeding the bees for the winter. Only the family that stands nearby has a fresh spray of honey in the combs, and the queen lays more eggs. I won’t give her syrup yet.

How to feed bees? There are a great many designs of feeders and it’s not immediately clear which one to choose. You buy it in a store, but it turns out to be uncomfortable and will then lie around, like your father’s. It’s okay if there’s only one, but I need almost two dozen... Do it myself - I haven’t bought a machine yet.

In one of Gennady Stepanenko’s videos, I saw how he fed bees using ordinary garbage bags. Like these ones:

They are cheap, a roll is enough to feed twenty families twice. In this case, there is no need for feeders at all, there is no need to wash them and store them somewhere. In general, I liked it and decided to try it too.

The syrup was cooked in a forty-liter saucepan on a stove in the yard.

I poured in 20 liters of rainwater, boiled it, and then poured in, gradually stirring, 30 kg of sugar.

That is, the proportion of syrup is 1:1.5 - one and a half kilograms of sugar per liter of water. Bring it to a boil again, but do not need to boil. As soon as foam begins to form on the surface, it means it is about to boil, you can remove it from the heat.

There was about 40 liters of syrup - right to the very top of the pan. I cooked it in the evening, brought the pan into the house overnight, and in the morning the syrup was still well warm - just the right temperature for feeding. I additionally poured 1200 ml into the pan (30 ml per liter of syrup) and stirred well.

I poured the syrup in the house so that the bees would not hear the smell and not provoke an attack. I first sprayed the bucket with water so that the bag would not stick to the walls. I put the bag in like a trash can.

And I pour 5 liters of syrup into it at once.

I tie the “forelock” with a knot, in this case you need to squeeze out all the air from the bag, and make the knot closer to the edge, then the syrup can spread.

I go to the hive with the bucket, open it, carefully take the bag by the forelock and place it on top of the frames. If there are a lot of bees on the frames, I place them slowly, the bag gradually spreads over the frames and the bees move apart, without crushing any of them.

If the knot is made far from the edge, the syrup will not be able to spread in the shape of a pancake, the bag will lie like a mountain - neither can it be covered with anything, and the likelihood of tearing is greater.

I put the canvas on top and put on the liner.

I tried to put a pillow - the roof was pressing on it, I was afraid that it would crush the bag, so I didn’t put any pillows. In 20 minutes I had served out the entire pot of syrup. In the evening, in the families where I fed the bees with bags, I observed increased activity; the bees intensively ventilated the entrances, as if there was a good feeding. So they take syrup. The next day I looked under the lid - the bag was empty and completely dry.

The bees pierce the film with their mandibles, lick the flowing droplets of syrup and place it in the cells. Per day - 5 liters!

At the same time, some of the packages seemed completely intact, some were chewed, and a dozen bees climbed inside. I shook them out and threw away the rest of the bags. You can boil and feed the next batch of syrup. I’ll give it one more time and that’s it, I think 10 liters is enough for a family, because I also left a lot of honey in the hives, up to twenty kilograms.

Last year I told my father how to feed bees in bags, he tried it and threw away his homemade feeders.

PS A steam wax furnace arrived from Kharkov by Nova Poshta, I have already tested it, soon... And, finally, the sun came out...

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