Supplemental Bee Feeding
During my second winter of beekeeping, I lost a colony to starvation and vowed then and there if I could do anything to prevent that from happening again, I would.
Since then, leading beekeeping scientists like Jerry Hayes have insisted there is nothing wrong with feeding bees. After all, we would not let Fido die from lack of food so why would we do that to our honeybees?
The experience changed the way I manage my extra honey supplies. Instead of harvesting in fall, I pull frames during the year and use them in fall to make sure all of my colonies have at least one full honey super going into winter. My two largest colonies get two honey suppers.
When spring arrives and they are bringing in nectar and pollen, I remove those remaining supers and extract, that way I can ensure my bees have enough honey to get them through winter,
This year, a couple of my hives were short of honey stores so I supplemented with the saved honey. Then on a whim I checked one of my larger colonies without breaking the propolis seals and found there wasn’t one drop of honey left. Out came the totes with honey frames and an 8-frame honey super was added as the third box.
As insurance, I also added homemade sugar cakes and small 1x1 inch winter pollen patties which are mostly carbs and little protein. Our mid-Missouri weather is fickle, fluctuating from record lows to sunny, balmy days. The fluctuating weather conditions means my bees are consuming honey and out flying on the warm days, consuming more of their honey stores than if they were clustered inside their hives staying warm.
The homemade sugar cakes are easy to make. I use bread pans when they are available and recycled fruit clam shells when I am making extras. I knew I needed more sugar cakes for the honey-less colony so I used my bread pans and allowed the sugar cakes to dry for a day before putting them in the hive.
Charlotte’s Winter Sugar Cakes
5 lbs or 11 1/4 cups sugar
7 1/2 ounces of water (make sure it's exact)
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar (don't use apple cider vinegar, attracts small hive beetles)
1 tsp Honey Bee Healthy
(no pollen needed going into winter)
For January-Feb, I will add
1/4 cup Bee Pro protein to each batch
Add Honey Bee Healthy and vinegar to measuring cup; then add water to 7 1/2 ounces. Mix well. Spread in bread pans and re-used fruit clam shells. (We have clam shells for free at club meetings)
One batch fills six rectangular fruit clam shells.
Leave overnight in cold oven to dry out. Once top is dry, remove and turn over on a cookie sheet to let the bottom dry out for a couple of days.
If you end up with still moist patties, re-mix and add a little more sugar, then dry again.
If you don't need to use immediately, store in sealed plastic container.
Sugar patties help absorb hive moisture during winter and can also provide supplemental food at the end of winter season when bees may be running out.
If sugar patties become dry and brittle in feeding shim, spray with water to soften the sugar mixture so bees can get to it.
No need to add lemongrass oil. Lemongrass oil will attract bees to the top when they should be in the cluster.
