Sugar Syrup question

[Boom Buzz]

My apologies in advance if this has been answered here already.  I did not find an answer on my search.

I made 2:1 sugar syrup by boiling water and adding sugar.  I continued to heat until dissolved but the mixture did not come back to a boil.  After cooling I put some of the syrup into a boardman feeder but the bees are not taking it.  I left most of the mixture in the pot and thought I would just see how the bees do with a little.  The mixture in the pot crystallized on top over night.  We are having great weather and the bees are active, but there is no flow going right now and I would think the bees would be all over this feed.

Does the fact the the pot crystallized over indicate I did not dissolve it well enough? 
SHould I just reheat and bring almost to a boil?
Why would bees not take this feed given the lack of flow?  Do they think they have ample stores?  How can I get then to take it?

Thanks for any suggestions/answers!

Side note:  I saw the bees collecting propolis from a super and frames that I had left out.  They were putting it in their pollen sacs on their legs.  I didn't know they did this!

[tandemrx]

I have never continued to heat my syrup after I got the water boiling (I just boil water, pour in bucket, pour sugar in bucket while stirring).

What exactly were your proportions?

Pretty tough to make the bees take syrup.

What do your frames look like?  Do they have anyplace to store it?  Do they have a lot of stores or uncapped nectar? Do they have much brood?  What is the population like?

Either way its getting late in season and they just slow down.  Can't imagine it is that warm in Longmont that they would be super active (nights I assume must be fairly cold - so they must be clustering - not sure what altitude you are at - they are probably only active a couple hours during the day and probably do not break cluster at night to feed - especially at a boardman feeder where they have to go near a cold entrance).

[Kathyp]

Do they think they have ample stores

only you can answer that question.  you need to know what's in your hive.

to save yourself work in the future, you don't need to even boil the water if your tap is hot enough.  it just takes a little longer to disolve.  if you wish to boil the water, do as tandemrx does.

[L Daxon]

Holdthematters:

Your experience is very similar to mine, i.e. I made 2:1 syrup last week. Boiled water first.  Left syrup in the pot and it crystallized on top next a.m.  Bees aren't taking the syrup too well. 

I think it is just the time of year and the girls are slowing down.  Can't imagine your weather is any warmer than here in Oklahoma.  It just seems they take a little less syrup each day, though I know I have lots of room for them to still store stuff if they wanted to.  Also they have a lot of uncapped stores.  I think the nightime temps have as much or more to do with it than the daytime.

[Hemlock]

My bees always stop taking syrup in the beginning of November.  Definitely check their stores and see if they have enough.  Also Boardman feeders will chill the syrup overnight more than IN-Hive feeders do.  The syrup will then need to warm up before the bees can take it. 

The crystallizing is normal for 2:1.  HEATING AFTER BOILING!  Could be risky.  What recipe do you use?

[Boom Buzz]

Thanks for the comments.

I am using 6 cups water, 12 cups sugar. 
We are having unseasonably nice weather for November.
days in the mid to high 60s, nightly lows in the high 30's to low 40's.
The bees have been flying and active.  So I assumed they would be interested in some extra stores.
I have not inspected lately, but the deep and medium they will over winter in weigh about 55 - 60 LBs. 
I think they will be okay over winter but I just thought I'd give them some extra since the weather is so nice and they are active.
Still so much to learn!

[tecumseh]

first holdthemater I only feed 1 to 1 here.  I do wonder why the surface would crystalize?   curious... very much so.

on your feeding question.  there are several variable here and the first of these is the location of the feeder.  a boardman feeder placed in the entrance is not only difficult to access by the workers but it is also exposed to outside temperatures.  as the syrup gets colder and thicker the bees will have less a tendency to pick the syrup up.  low night time temperatures could be just making the syrup too cold.  the next variable is empty space in the hive... if you have lots of empty frames then typically the syrup is removed quickly and placed in cells for later use.  if the frames are full then the uptake is much slower. 

[pollenchucker]

Last year, my first, I continued boiling water after adding sugar until dissolved.  The bees pretty much left it alone and preferred to starve when their stores ran out.
This year I take my boiling water off the heat then add and stir in sugar.  Began feeding last week and the bees are knocking off a quart per day and storing it in their brood boxes.  I also have a shallow super on top that is 3/4 capped.  But the bees are still taking the syrup so I plan to continue feeding until they slow down on it.
cheers

[Michael Bush]

Your syrup is fine, I'm sure.  If the syrup isn't warm enough (cold nights usually keep that from happening) or they have plenty, they may or may not be interested.

[Boom Buzz]

Again, thanks to all.

I tossed the lot and started over.  Now after boiling the water I add the sugar without reheating - the sugar dissolves fine and the girls are lapping it up.  They are taking about a little over a pint a day.  :-D  We have a few more days of warmer weather before the first snow late next week.