Question on feeing

vemergy · March 09, 2015, 01:26:54 PM

Hi,

It has finally warmed up a bit in mid-central Ohio.

My question is -- is it OK to feed bees with syrup (1/1 ratio sugar/water mixed up with right amount of Bee Healthy) while at the same time curing with Apistan strips for mites?

Thanks for your time and input.

Regards,

Colobee · March 09, 2015, 03:56:32 PM

I can't imagine why not. They bring in nectar while the strips are in. You might want to look up Michael Bush's Recipe for adding Vitamin C to increase the acidity of syrup. It makes the syrup closer to the same Ph as nectar/honey - beneficial to the bees and many if not all of the other good micro-organisms within the hive. HBH might do something similar...

OldMech · March 10, 2015, 12:51:10 AM

IF, they will take the syrup, understand that it will simulate nectar coming in, and the queen will start laying heavier..

if you stop feeding before a flow starts they will starve
if another COLD snap hits the bees may not leave the brood, and they will perish trying to keep it warm.

Having said that... I typically start feeding the bees when they Maple sap turns ( When it gets cloudy and is no longer suitable for syrup, which usually coincides with the Buds on the maples starting to pop) It can be a bad deal if we get a cold snap and snow storm in April. It has happened in the past, I am hoping it doesnt happen in the future..
Anyhow, the reason i start feeding so soon is because I want lots of bees for splits and queens. if your just after honey then you dont have to take as much risk. Wait an extra couple of weeks to start feeding.

Dallasbeek · March 10, 2015, 02:27:25 PM

OldMech, does that advice apply just to syrup, as opposed to sugar cake or Mountain Camp method? I'm assuming you are just talking about syrup, since it simulates nectar. Here in Dallas, our AVERAGE last frost is about March 19, but that means some years it's later and some years earlier. Last year we had a hard freeze (maybe even snow) the first week of April. I want to feed, but I'm very hesitant to do so until after April 1. Staying with "dry" sugar till then.

sc-bee · March 10, 2015, 03:34:47 PM

Dallas not old Mech but... as long as the temps get high enough for them to break cluster it is no problem. And I would think your temps in the day are getting high enough. On the other hand feeding 1:1 stimulates brood rearing. And if they rear brood early and then you stop feeding and there is no source you have created a problem if you do not continue to feed. Also if the hive broods up with lots of brood and no bees to cover it if the temps fall then the brood will chill.
All that said I have bee feeding syrup for a while now.I rarely feed anything other than syrup anyway. We still have night frost at times but our day temps are rising fast. I imagine I am about 2-3 weeks away from swarm season. It is usually the last week of march or first week of April. Our bloom does seem to be about two weeks behind however.

Edited: I just looked at your current temps... they are very similar to mine. Maybe a few degrees lower at night. On the other hand Old Mech night temps are 10-15 degrees lower than ours. When my night temps get near 50's or even mid 40's rather consistently I don't worry. If needed to build up IMHO I would feed syrup now.

Dallasbeek · March 10, 2015, 04:43:54 PM

Thanks sc-bee. I'm thinking syrup starting about a week from now for sure. Nights are still a little under 50. Bees are out flying today. Past few days have been straight rain, but just cloudy today. I'm staying out of the hives, since they can't be totally happy after being in lock-down the past week. Sun will come out tomorrow. (Annie's song comes to mind)

OldMech · March 11, 2015, 10:26:32 AM

Sugar, fondant, candy board etc will feed them but not induce the queen to LAY, where as syrup makes her think thee is a flow and she will go to work..

vemergy · March 11, 2015, 12:23:34 PM

Thank you all for the feedback and advice -- I find it most valuable.

sc-bee · March 11, 2015, 01:50:46 PM

Quote from: OldMech on March 11, 2015, 10:26:32 AM
Sugar, fondant, candy board etc will feed them but not induce the queen to LAY, where as syrup makes her think thee is a flow and she will go to work..

All about location .... for me now is the time for bees. OP's climate is closer to Old Mech's.

vemergy · March 11, 2015, 11:04:03 PM

BTW, I opened the hive today for the first time since winterizing it last year late in Oct to place the 2 Apistan strips (I have 1 hive, 3 mediums supers, 10 frame each) but did not feed them. Just placed the 2 Apistan strips diagonally in each corner of the top super.
It was mid 40F or so today, overcast and the bees were all in.

It was a beauty really to see them but I was surprised that they were not clustered.
They were probably an inch think right below the inner cover, layered evenly between the inner cover and the frames, so densely and evenly spread out that I could not see the frames. They were very calm. I don't know if there were bees in sup1 and sup2 as I could not see further below.

I did not pull frames out and neither did I re-arrange sups (did not really want to disturb them in this weather) to check on sufficient supplies but I believe that they are not short of supplies as I left them plenty (100-120 lbs rough guess). Should I have?

I will probably feed them 3 gallons of syrup (mixed up with about 25ML of Bee Healthy) in about 2-3 weeks but is there anything else that I should be thinking/planning on doing in this early spring?

Colobee · March 12, 2015, 01:40:17 PM

Apistan needs to be placed vertically into the brood nest to be effective. When you make syrup, find a way to test it for pH if you can. Try to adjust it to 4-5, by adding ~1500mg/gallon of Vit C, or 1/2 to 1 cup vinegar/gal (?) HBH/other additives probably use an acidic ingredient to help prevent fermentation. I've used both, together ( less of each).

As others have mentioned, once you start feeding, you can't stop until Mother Nature takes over. That can be a real pain if you have to remove feeder jars every night, & replace them in the morning, so the expansion/contraction cycle doesn't drown your bees with frigid syrup. There are many ways to feed and this is a critical consideration in the spring.

I'm feeding dry sugar until the overnight lows consistently hit the mid-40's, and feeding syrup (with restricted holes) then, only because I'm planning some expansion in Late April - early May. A couple hives are really working the dry sugar and a couple are ignoring it. The ones really working it are taking a couple cups every 2-3 days.

I'm building nucs, supers, bottom boards & inner covers to fight off the cabin fever. It's supposed to be 75* on Sunday, but I know there may be another frigid snap or two before spring actually arrives. The weather folks are warning us not to get ahead of ourselves. After 50 years in Colorado, I kinda believe them...