r/Beekeeping • u/Redreaper_22 • 2d ago
I’m a beekeeper, and I have a question Bee feeding
My bees didn’t take down their sugar water last week. I noticed when I was going to fill it up today but it was still full. What should I do?
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u/Relevant-Bath-7109 2d ago
I have one colony that's putting away 2 gallons a week. The colony next to it has not even taken a quart. Bee's gonna do what bee's gonna do
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u/talanall 2d ago
If bees aren't taking sugar syrup, there are a handful of possibilities to explain why not. I don't think anyone can guide you as to which of them are plausible in your specific circumstance, because you've given us little context. If you're in Australia, you're in the spring boom; if you're in Canada, winter is practically standing on your neck.
Bees usually ignore syrup if they can get as much nectar as they need. This is very common in the spring, but less common in autumn unless you have had plenty of rainfall. Strong colonies are better able to exploit a nectar flow, so they tend to stop taking syrup from a feeder a little sooner in the spring compared to weak colonies.
All else being equal, strong colonies can drain a feeder much more quickly than weak colonies.
Not all feeders are equal; some offer much more access to the syrup than others. A low-output feeder empties more slowly.
If your weather is consistently cooler than ~10 C/50 F, your bees cannot drink the syrup because it's getting too cold. It's a physical limitation. If you're getting warmer daily highs but it's getting chilly at night, that's going to slow them down. If you're getting down near freezing at night but the daily highs are in the low to mid 60s F (~15-18 C), the syrup's not going to have time to warm up in the daytime.
If they have already taken down enough syrup to fill every bit of space in the hive that isn't occupied with brood, they won't take down more syrup because they physically do not have anywhere to put it.
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u/davidsandbrand 2d ago
>if you're in Canada, winter is practically standing on your neck.
< looks outside and sees snow on the ground >… practically?
;)
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u/talanall 2d ago
Yeah, if OP lives in Whitehorse, or something, we probably know why their bees quit drinking syrup. Technically, it isn't winter until . . . December 21, I think. But practically? Winter now. I guess there might be a chance to squeeze in a little more feeding if they're in Vancouver, although I wouldn't want to count on it if I were keeping bees there.
I really might have to stop feeding sometime in January, and that's fine by me.
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u/davidsandbrand 2d ago
Yeah, Canada has all sorts of different climates - your wording just made me chuckle and wish winter was further away.
My bees are West of Calgary and I just checked my camera and there is 1-2” of snow on top of them as I type this. It’s 0c (32f), but there’s a slight windchill. This is nowhere near the depths of our winter (think -40).
I fed a couple hives too late one fall and in spring everyone was dead, most frames had massive quantities of open cells with syrup in them, and there was more mold than I’ve ever seen before or since. Basically they kept packing the syrup away and didn’t have time to dry & cap it and it killed them - so in places of cold winters there is a real risk to feeding too late.
That winter greatly contributed to my current mentality of no longer feeding syrup, ever. I’ll move frames around and harvest less if needed, but I make sure they go into winter with only real nectar & honey, and my winter survival rate jumped up when I started doing it this way (often to 100%).
Also, I want to give you huge props for how detailed your replies are. You’re setting the bar in this sub for quality. Well done.
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u/talanall 2d ago
That's very kind of you. I try to provide context and detail because I think those things matter.
Also, I'm genuinely curious to know whether anyone in your area uses thymol as a feed additive to try to deal with the spoilage/mold issue associated with feeding syrup too late in the season. In my (very mild) climate, it makes syrup effectively shelf-stable, and that seems to have been the original purpose to which R. O. B. Manley used his tincture.
But I think his winters in England were really pretty mild, all in all.
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u/lcpwiland 2d ago
If it is a bucket feeder, have they propylized the holes shut?
If it is an internal feeder, is it clean (no mold or fermentation)?
If it is a ziploc bag feeder, did you remember to cut holes or slits?
Are you sure the colony has space?
If there is space, and temps are good for feeding, and the feed is clean and available, and you feel the colony is light … the only extra step I know about is adding an attractant to the syrup: hive alive or honey b healthy or similar,
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u/Dangerous_Hippo_6902 2d ago
Not really a problem if the hive is otherwise fine. Perhaps there’s still pollen out there!
Check the bees can actually access the sugar water, you haven’t accidentally sealed it off or they haven’t propolised it.
Change the water anyway, and clean the feeder. It could be mould or something the bees can sense (and you possibly not see).
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u/Plox-- 2d ago
I find that the most critical factor is temperature.
When temps get low some gather normally and others don't touch it. My approach is to start feeding early as possible. (Netherlands: I feed August preferably, Sept is okay, oktober is risky)
Some treatments, specifically ones with thymol cause bees to ignore syrup, but mostly it's the above.
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u/27mwtobias27 1d ago
I'm in 7A NJ and have the same thing going on. Temps are def above 50 in the day (60s-low 70s). Cooler at night but not yet freezing. I'm going to leave it for another week or two and then pull it off. I had added a splash of ACV to it to prevent molding.
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