Feeding syrup

[amandrea]

I am confused now. Read several posts that state bees can be over fed sugar water creating space problems. I had thought the reason for 1:1 syrup was the bees would stop taking it if they did not need it.

Can't both be right, which is it?

[Brian D. Bray]

Different Bees will do different things.  Most newbee's over feed their bees.  Feed just enough to get them going--I limit my feeding to 1 gallon.  Then let the bees be bees.  If you over feed the hive can quicklly become honey bound because they are bring in more syrup than they can use so they begin to store it.  This limits the queens ability to lay eggs and replenish the hive population.  Also over feed in an excellent way to force your bees into swarming.

In Spring or setup of hive Feed lightly.  In the fall feed to maximize stores.  The only time to really consider heavy feeding is in the fall to setup for winter.  Even during a dirth or drought I prefer to feed lightly when necessary.