feeding?

Kevin

I split a colony about a month ago . they have slowed down so i started to feed some 1:1 sugar water. I'm hoping they will draw some more comb and put some more weight on before winter. my questions are, am I doing the right thing for the right reason? and can I feed a gallon every week , even if they run out after 3 or 4 days?

SweeetTaste

Hi Kevin, I feed my splits sugar water in a frame feeder until they stop using it. Sometimes that is two or more gallons a week since the majority of bees are house bees and not field bees. I also put a small, about 1x2, piece of pollen supplement on the top bars right over the brood and the new queen.

It takes time for the brood to emerge and start drawing wax. If I think the split needs a bit of help, I will add a frame of capped brood that is ready to emerge and shake in more house bees from another colony. Drawing comb takes lots of energy and bees so that is why I feed sugar water until they stop using it.

rhfire

Along with what Dave said, 1-1 feed mimics a nectar flow and encourages them to draw and lay. But the protein/pollan is critical for reproduction, it won't happen without it. This time of year, is also critical for mite load. The mite load is usually the highest and your bee production naturally drops off. Additionally, the queen will begin to lay winter bees starting in late August, so mite load is critical. If you have comb that is already drawn, I would use that, rather than trying to get them to draw wax. If you don't, you can paint (roller) on a thin coat of wax to the foundation to get them more excited about making comb. Lets talk about that this Saturday at the barn meeting.