Mountain Camp Or Sugar brick

labradorfarms · October 05, 2014, 01:11:40 PM

Need some advice hear ahead of full on winter...

Which is the best feeding method after the cold sets in and Bee's stop taking Syrup?

The Mountain Camp method or just making a foundant or sugar brick whatever you call it?

Also how long can I go without checking to see if they still have feed?
Will 5 pounds or either last me typicly a month? I mena if I can put 10 pounds and not have to bother the Bee's Id rather do that......

jalentour · October 05, 2014, 09:39:28 PM

Lab,
I was researching the same topic today.
I found this youtube, check it out. Make a candy board for overwintering honey bees or http://www.indianahoney.org/Resources.cfm.
I will probably go this route.
Joe

minz · October 05, 2014, 11:46:04 PM

That looks pretty slick. 16 lb sugar, 1 tbs white vinegar in 3 cups of water and scoop it onto some hardware cloth covered with the wax paper between the foundation. I would think that regular wax paper would work as well? No cooking, no boiling.
Candy board with Brick ease!

Michael Bush · October 06, 2014, 06:20:41 PM

>Which is the best feeding method after the cold sets in and Bee's stop taking Syrup?

If you are lazy like me, Mt. Camp. If you are obsessed with working, candy board. The end results are identical...

labradorfarms · October 09, 2014, 04:09:29 PM

Quote from: Michael Bush on October 06, 2014, 06:20:41 PM
>Which is the best feeding method after the cold sets in and Bee's stop taking Syrup?

If you are lazy like me, Mt. Camp. If you are obsessed with working, candy board. The end results are identical...

Thanks Mr Bush..... I think id like less work.... Do you spray it with warm water to harden the sugar up any? To make it harder for the Bee's to trash it.

AllenF · October 10, 2014, 07:24:27 PM

I have always done it the lazy way.

rwlaw · October 10, 2014, 09:24:26 PM

I guess I always like the taking the harder way, I make bricks.
I know it don't help much but boiling the sugar is supposed to make the crystals smaller. With bricks I can shim them off the frames so the communication isn't interrupted in the cluster, with the mountain camp method is like throwing a blanket on the frames till they can tunnel thru.

Joe D · October 11, 2014, 02:40:29 AM

I try to leave enough honey for them. I do give them a little sugar syrup, maybe a gallon per hive during the winter. It usually doesn't get cold enough but maybe for a few days that I couldn't do the sugar syrup. Another good thing about being down south. ha Good luck to yuall and your bees this winter.

Joe

Vance G · October 11, 2014, 12:04:06 PM

It is laudable to try to make life easier for the bees but I really don't think crystal size has a lot to do with ease of the bees taking in the feed. I have watched the bees feeding on bricks or dry sugar or honey many times and on every occaision, the bees are just working on the fodder with their little reddish tongue. I think they apply some moisture to the crystals of any size which must be liquefied for them to consume. They seem to get it done because those sugars keep melting into smaller chunks.

Those poor southern bees that have to fly in the cold winter winds and struggle all winter and live short hard lives. My bees will soon spend the winter migrating from top to bottom and back in a summer temperature cluster and will live close to six months. When bees think deep thoughts and solve problems like vorroa it will certainly be in those long winter clusterings!

hjon71 · October 11, 2014, 10:23:24 PM

Quote

Those poor southern bees that have to fly in the cold winter winds and struggle all winter and live short hard lives. My bees will soon spend the winter migrating from top to bottom and back in a summer temperature cluster and will live close to six months. When bees think deep thoughts and solve problems like vorroa it will certainly be in those long winter clusterings!

Sweet imagination. Better anthropomorphism.

hilltophermit · October 15, 2014, 08:04:52 AM

so.........what is mountain camp?

Michael Bush · October 15, 2014, 01:35:14 PM

>Do you spray it with warm water to harden the sugar up any? To make it harder for the Bee's to trash it.

Yes.

>so.........what is mountain camp?

A member of another forum who went by MountainCamp was a big proponent of the method, so it came to be known as the "Mountain Camp" method...

BeeMaster2 · October 16, 2014, 01:28:01 PM

Quote from: hilltophermit on October 15, 2014, 08:04:52 AM
so.........what is mountain camp?

Not certain, but as far as I can tell it is when you place a piece of newspaper on top of the frames and pour a bag of sugar on it and then spray it with water and put the cover on. Need a shim to raise the lid above the sugar.
Jim

jaseemtp · October 16, 2014, 08:08:49 PM

I like fondant because I make mine enriched with pollen sub. But, like Michale says the Mt. Camp is much much easier

CBT · October 16, 2014, 10:05:23 PM

As I understand the candy method the moisture from the hive softens it on the feeding side and makes it easier the girls to eat. :)

Michael Bush · October 22, 2014, 10:00:00 AM

>I like fondant because I make mine enriched with pollen sub.

Bees don't need pollen (or sub) in the winter. They need sugar. Solids just give them dysentery...

OldMech · October 23, 2014, 12:43:32 AM

Indeed, no pollen for winter..
Use either method, but dont put pollen or pollen sub in it.. if you have a mild winter, and the bees do not need the sugar, you can pull it off, and make spring syrup with it, be it loose granulated or bricks... I love not wasting sugar... the only catch is if they get Nosema, dont mix and refeed sugar with bee poo all over it...
This is how I prep for winter here in SE Iowa...

http://outyard.weebly.com/wintering.html

Your ultimate goal is, that the bees do not even touch the sugar you put on the hive.. if you left them enough honey reserves, and or enough syrup, they will not make it to the sugar before you pull it off... The sugar brick or mountain camp method is an emergency security measure.. Normally, my bees have not begun consuming the sugar when I open them in the spring.. Last winter was a different story.. When we got a 45 degree day in February, I began pulling inner covers to look.. EVERY hive was into the sugar, and had consumed about half of it.. I was not a very happy camper... When April came about, and 60 degree temps, I finally opened the hives and found out what happened.. the temps, sometimes as cold as -50 were enough to keep the bees from moving out, or sideways for reserves.. they went STRIAGHT UP through the hive, making a perfect hole of consumed honey to the top.. had i not put the sugar on when i winterized, i would have either been out in -50 degree temps and 40 mph winds opening hives to feed, OR, i would have lost ALL of my hives.. as it stands, I only lost ONE hive in a winter where statistics claim 70% losses statewide.. So, the goal is to prepare for the worst.. if the worst does not happen, you have hurt nothing.. if the worst DOES happen, you get to stand in your warm living room, Hot coffee in hand, looking out across the waves of blowing snow, knowing your bees are set up the best they can be.

kingd · October 23, 2014, 06:39:27 AM

OldMech,

So you put the sugar blocks on now? I like the idea but wonder what the downside is to doing that.

Sorry to jump in :)

tefer2 · October 23, 2014, 08:54:57 AM

We don't put our bricks on till Thanksgiving over here.
About the same time we wrap our hives with tar paper.
Trying to wait until the last available window to add them.
We also fold any new tar paper wraps inside the house and place weight on them.
Way to hard to form them around the hive when it's cold out.

OldMech · October 23, 2014, 12:01:21 PM

No, I put them on when i prepare the hives for winter and wrap them. It needs to be cold enough the bees are clustering. I lift the top, put the brick on under the reversible inner cover and put the foam on top of the inner cover. Wrap the hive, replace the tele cover, and walk away until that one warmish (40+) day in February when I take a quick look.

The purpose of that look is to see if I need to add more sugar. it also gives me a count of the hives that did not make it so I can spend the next two months planning splits, queens etc...