Lesson 39: Feeding
When to feed, what to feed, and how to mix it
Bees are best off on their own honey and pollen, but there are times a colony needs help. Knowing when and what to feed can be the difference between a colony that thrives and one that starves. (Lesson 22 covers feeder equipment; your Seasonal Guide says when feeding is usually needed in your area.)
When to feed
- New colonies: packages, nucs, swarms and splits, while they build comb (lessons 26–30).
- Colonies that are light on stores, especially before winter and in late winter, when brood rearing starts before flowers do (lesson 14).
- During a dearth, a stretch with little or nothing blooming.
- To stimulate brood rearing before a nectar flow or when making splits.
How to tell if a colony is light: Heft it. Gently tip the hive up from the back a little. A hive heavy with honey is hard to tip; one that lifts easily is light and probably needs food. With practice you'll learn the feel. Looking at the outer frames for capped honey tells you too (lesson 35).
If you're not sure, feed. If the bees don't need it, they simply won't take much. A little wasted sugar is far better than a starving colony.
What to feed: sugar syrup
Use only plain white (refined) cane or beet sugar. Bees turn it into a honey-like food the same way they process nectar.
Never feed: - Brown sugar, molasses or raw/unrefined sugar: bees can't digest the extra plant material, and it causes dysentery (which can look like Nosema). - Artificial sweeteners. - Honey from an unknown source, including store-bought honey. Honey can carry the spores of American foulbrood, which are harmless to people but can infect your colonies (lesson 58).
The two standard ratios
| Mix | Ratio (sugar : water) | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Light syrup | 1 : 1 | Spring and summer: new colonies, building comb, stimulating brood rearing |
| Heavy syrup | 2 : 1 | Fall and winter: building winter stores. It's thicker, so bees store it with less work to dry it out |
Ratios can be measured by weight or by volume. Measuring by volume is close enough for feeding bees.
Mixing syrup
- Heat the water until hot (for heavy syrup, bring it to a gentle boil, then turn it down).
- Stir in the sugar until it's completely dissolved. Undissolved sugar can re-crystallize in the feeder or in the comb.
- Let it cool to room temperature before feeding. Never feed hot syrup.
- Optional: some beekeepers add about a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice per gallon to slow mold if the syrup isn't taken quickly.
- Wash feeders between uses (lesson 22).
Pollen substitute (protein)
Sugar is energy; bees also need protein, from pollen, to raise brood (lesson 10). When pollen is scarce, pollen substitute patties can help colonies build up. They're not as good as real pollen, but most commercial brands support brood rearing.
- Place patties on the top bars right over the brood nest.
- Give small colonies small pieces (about a third of a patty). Small hive beetles love pollen patties, and a patty left sitting uneaten gives them a place to lay eggs (lesson 64).
- Keep patties soft; bees won't eat substitute that has dried out hard.
Emergency winter feeding
If a colony is light in winter:
- Feed inside the hive. Bees can't leave the cluster to reach an entrance feeder in cold weather (below about 55°F daytime highs; lesson 22).
- Heavy (2:1) syrup in an internal feeder, or
- Dry white sugar poured on the inner cover or on newspaper over the top bars, with an empty box around it for space, or
- A candy board or blocks of hard sugar candy placed on top of the frames, right above the cluster.
Don't feed while honey supers are on
Remove honey supers before feeding syrup, or don't feed while they're on. Otherwise the bees may store syrup in the supers, and your "honey" will be partly sugar syrup.
What to remember
- Feed new colonies, light colonies, and colonies in a dearth; heft the hive to check stores; when in doubt, feed.
- Plain white sugar only. Never brown sugar, molasses, sweeteners or unknown honey.
- 1:1 in spring/summer for building and brood; 2:1 in fall/winter for stores.
- Dissolve fully; never feed hot syrup.
- Pollen patties in small pieces; feed inside the hive in cold weather; no feeding with honey supers on.
Quick check
- Which syrup would you feed in the fall to build winter stores, and why?
- Why shouldn't you feed your bees store-bought honey?
- Why feed pollen patties in small pieces?
Show answers
1. Heavy 2:1 syrup: it's thicker, so bees can store it with less drying. 2. It can carry American foulbrood spores that can infect your colonies. 3. So bees eat them quickly, before small hive beetles can lay eggs in them.
Adapted from: University of Arkansas, Complete Beekeeping Short Course, Part 8 (feeding handout); UGA Bee Program, Getting Started: Honey Bee Management and Honey Bee Disorders: Non-infectious Diseases and Pests; Mississippi State University Extension, Beginning Beekeeping in Mississippi (P3594); UF/IFAS Extension, Overwintering Honey Bee Colonies in Northern Climates (IN1006) and Using Nucs in Beekeeping Operations (IN869); Purdue Extension, Advanced Beekeeping (4-H-1059-W).
Adapted from university Extension sources. Experienced Georgia beekeepers are reviewing these lessons. See something that doesn't match your experience? Tell us.