Been open feeding a few hives from a removal for a while to help them rebuild.... bees are bringing in a good amount of pollen now. Will they stop taking the sugar water once a flow comes on or should I stop feeding and force them to find some nectar on their own. I guess I could stop for a week or so, then put some feed out and see what happens, but I figured I'd get some opinions first. Thoughts?
Quote from: Fishing-Nut on August 12, 2019, 01:43:16 PM
Been open feeding a few hives from a removal for a while to help them rebuild.... bees are bringing in a good amount of pollen now. Will they stop taking the sugar water once a flow comes on or should I stop feeding and force them to find some nectar on their own. I guess I could stop for a week or so, then put some feed out and see what happens, but I figured I'd get some opinions first. Thoughts?
In my short time of beekeeping, it has been my experience that they will take the syrup as long as you will make it available, baring low temperatures of course. I went into the late fall last season, with 7 nucs splits that desperately needing building up for an adequate amount of winter bees 🐝. Again, I would recommend you looking up Live Oaks explanations and recommendations on late season and winter keeping. I don?t know what area of Georgia that you are from but Mr Live Oak is from Tennessee and more over toward Georgia than am I. There are many other who also have good advise here for this time of year . I?m not picking on Mr Live Oak. Just using his name and advise as an example.
Phillip
Let me add, I did not open feed but fed by boardman.
FishNut, ID has a good suggestion, the heft test as he calls it. Lift back of hive to determine, approximate hive weight. If light, keep feeding.
Van
I will add, some hives of mine are young under weight hives whereas established hives in 3 deeps are to full and need to be reduced to two deeps for winter. So I rob honey from one heavy hive and place the capped frames of honey in my light hives. Robin Hood beekeeping as I have 18 hives so this method is doable. I just have to be careful, very careful to avoid robbing.
Pollen doesn't always mean the plants are producing nectar. Check the colony for stored syrup, and if the colony has enough to support buildup until time for winter feeding, quit feeding. If you want to continue to boost brood production then continue to slow feed 1:1 sugar syrup mix. Everything depends on your goals and what you see during the inspections.
I have had hives stop taking 1:1 syrup when nectar became available, but they often continue taking 2:1 mix.
The bees will collect nectar before sugar water, but if you have 20,000 foragers and only enough flow to work 10,000, then the other 10,000 will bring in sugar water. If the flow is enough to keep them all busy, the sugar will be ignored.
Thanks guys. Idee that was my question. If I keep sugar water out until the flow comes on will they leave the syrup alone and take to the real nectar, or will the sugar syrup that never went empty keep them from finding the real nectar flow.
Quote from: iddee on August 12, 2019, 07:16:26 PM
The bees will collect nectar before sugar water, but if you have 20,000 foragers and only enough flow to work 10,000, then the other 10,000 will bring in sugar water. If the flow is enough to keep them all busy, the sugar will be ignored.
That is what I found.
My hive was getting light just before the Mesquite flow; so, I began to feed them. But when the Mesquite started they drank almost no syrup.
Now in the heat and no major flow but only wild sunflowers and other minor crops they take a quart of syrup every other day.
Yet, a good number still go out to forage.
Fishing nut,
Bees work on a priority based system. During a good flow, 99% of the bees will not pay attention to open honey, let alone sugar water. When the flow starts to slow they then revert back and check out prior feed stations. During a flow, they even work on a priority basis as to which flowers they will use. They will fly over Gallberry to get to Black-gum. The minute the Black-gum stops they work the Gallberry.
Jim Altmiller
If you are open feeding then you are feeding every hive in a 2 mile radius. When I feed, I use an inverted jar on inner cover. That way you are getting it to the hive that needs it.
>Will they stop taking the sugar water once a flow comes on...
No.
>If you are open feeding then you are feeding every hive in a 2 mile radius.
And if my hives are in that 2 mile radius you are watering down my honey with sugar syrup...
Quote from: Michael Bush on August 15, 2019, 10:19:41 AM
>Will they stop taking the sugar water once a flow comes on...
No.
>If you are open feeding then you are feeding every hive in a 2 mile radius.
And if my hives are in that 2 mile radius you are watering down my honey with sugar syrup...
sorry if you dont like it. I do removals and believe in feeding the bees so that they can have some help rebuilding.... Especially this time of year.
Also I doubt that there is anyone around here keeping bees. Not impossible but pretty unlikely. I live out In the sticks in an everyone knows everyone kind of place. Also I watch the bees on the feed for that reason. The bees that leave it zip right back to my hives. I did think about that and so I sit and watch the bees very regularly to see which way they are going with the sugar water.
I think it unlikely strange bees will find your open feeders unless their colonies are very close and they are already probing your colonies trying to rob. I have open fed and it would take my bees over 24 hours to find the syrup in tote boxes only 30 yards away. Sugar syrup has very little smell, so if no additives are used, it would very hard for bees to discover it from any distance.