granular sugar question

Dr. B in Wisconsin · December 11, 2010, 02:01:20 PM

Hello
I have 2 deeps and one honey super on now, tried to get down to 2 deeps but there wasnt lots of honey in the lower deeps so I left the super on. I have an insulated top on which I bought and there is a round insulated about 2 inch thick 5 inch in diameter removable plug of insulation on the top. My question is if I wanted to try to put some granular sugar in could I take the top off and place a piece of paper or plastic just under the insulated top (on top of the super) and dump some sugar on it and quickly put the top back on or is there a different way to put sugar on. Its getting very cold here now in Wisconsin. I did make some hard candy sugar but it is too cold to take anything apart.

Thanks for any ideas as to when, how often and how much.
Brian

annette · December 11, 2010, 06:57:54 PM

Quote from: Dr. B in Wisconsin on December 11, 2010, 02:01:20 PM
Hello
I have 2 deeps and one honey super on now, tried to get down to 2 deeps but there wasnt lots of honey in the lower deeps so I left the super on. I have an insulated top on which I bought and there is a round insulated about 2 inch thick 5 inch in diameter removable plug of insulation on the top. My question is if I wanted to try to put some granular sugar in could I take the top off and place a piece of paper or plastic just under the insulated top (on top of the super) and dump some sugar on it and quickly put the top back on or is there a different way to put sugar on. Its getting very cold here now in Wisconsin. I did make some hard candy sugar but it is too cold to take anything apart.

Thanks for any ideas as to when, how often and how much.
Brian

This is a quote from Michael Bush's website:

"Dry Sugar. This can be fed a number of ways. Some people just dump it down the back of the hive (definitely not recommended with Screened Bottom Boards as it will fall through to the ground). Some put it on top of the inner cover. Some put a sheet of newspaper on top of the top bars, add a box on top and put the sugar on the newspaper (as in the photos above). Others put it in a frame feeder (the black plastic trough kind). I've even pulled two frames out of an eight frame box that were empty and dumped the sugar in the gap (with a solid bottom board of course). With screened bottom boards or with a small hive that just needs a little help, I'll pull some empty frames out, put some newspaper in the gap and put a little sugar, spray a little water to clump it so it doesn't run out, a little more sugar until I get it full. Sometimes the house bees carry it out for trash if you don't clump it. If you drizzle some water on it you can get the bees interested in it. The finer the sugar the better they take it. If you can get "bakers" sugar or "drivert" sugar it will be better accepted that standard sugar but harder to find and more expensive.

What kind of sugar? It matters not at all if it's beet sugar or cane sugar.

It matters a lot if it's granulated white sugar or anything else. Powdered sugar, brown sugar, molasses and any other unrefined sugar is not good for bees. They can't handle the solids."

I place the newspaper on top of the top bars in the upper super and place a small spacer super on top to leave room for the sugar. I use only bakers sugar and spray it a bit with water. This follows Michael Bush's recommendation.

Hope this help you

Annette

T Beek · December 12, 2010, 01:52:30 PM

Do you use SBB? If so MB's way (above) is the best way. If you use a solid bottom you could pour it right on top of frames. Michael's is still best though. I don't have to add much water, just a spray or three, as the condensation hardens it up eventually. BUT I wouldn't do anything today, anywhere in Wisconsin, except shovle some snow. Our current temp is 5 w/ 20-30 mph winds and that's way too cold to be messing with your bees.

In my long hive I can check foodstores "almost" anytime as I use followers and the extra space provided toward the back allows me to keep the cavity full of granulated sugar until spring. Lifting the covers off my Langs in winter always scares me, so I fill em and forget em till Spring.

thomas

annette · December 12, 2010, 02:34:20 PM

Yes I have all open SBB.

T Beek · December 12, 2010, 03:20:13 PM

Then I'd leave em bee FOR NOW. They're not feeding when its this cold anyway, they'll stay put in cluster. wait for a day that's 32 or above w/ no wind. You can use a shallow or even a medium super if you don't have one cut down. I cut down all my old deeps into mediums leaving ready made shallow box sugar feeders 8-)

On a warmer day open up hive, put paper over frames, leaving an inch open toward the front, put super over paper, fill with sugar w/out dumping into left open one inch opening, put inner and outer cover on. Done .... BUT NOT TODAY ;)

thomas

T Beek · December 12, 2010, 04:14:11 PM

oops. sorry Annette, thought I was talking to Dr B. Do you get any winter in your part of the country?

WhipCityBeeMan · December 12, 2010, 09:54:31 PM

I think everyone got winter this weekend.

AllenF · December 12, 2010, 09:59:20 PM

Ain't that global warming a B......

Cossack · December 14, 2010, 02:04:49 PM

:)k

annette · December 14, 2010, 11:03:34 PM

Quote from: T Beek on December 12, 2010, 04:14:11 PM
oops. sorry Annette, thought I was talking to Dr B. Do you get any winter in your part of the country?

Yes, we get mostly rain, but sometimes a bit of snow dustings that do not stick around very long. Average temps are about 50's during the days and 30-40 at night. We have the occasional nights of 20's, but not too many of those.

T Beek · December 15, 2010, 08:37:29 AM

Annette-I guess then my question is; What do you do, feed all winter? Around here they won't break cluster or even move much at all (hence they sometimes starve with loads of honey around them) for a month or more depending on if we get a sunny day above 35. Seems the "colder it is the less they feed" and "less likely to consume anything" I give them. That's why I'm curious about your bees. Spring and Fall are my most worrisome times of year as they go into and out of cluster seeking feed/eating winter stores and I'm actually relieve when temps finally stay cold. It sounds like that's what your whole winter is like. Is that right? If so, you must go through an awful amount of feed, heh?

thomas

Acebird · December 15, 2010, 10:53:19 AM

Coming from a newbee:

You made a decision in the fall on how much honey to give them. If you start fiddling through the winter you will not know if your decision was right or wrong so it will just be more fiddling the next year. If they are going to make it they will make it. Never second guess your decisions> You will learn nothing. ;)

Edit:
This post relates to the topic starter.

T Beek · December 15, 2010, 12:08:25 PM

Sorry Acebird, but I don't give my bees honey, they give me honey. I don't take honey in the fall (Won't take any after mid August). I take "my" honey in the Spring once the dandelions commence. I only feed sugar or syrup in Fall and/or Spring if they're light and havn't treated with anything other than sugar dustings in five years, but that's me.

thomas

annette · December 15, 2010, 01:48:41 PM

Quote from: T Beek on December 15, 2010, 08:37:29 AM
Annette-I guess then my question is; What do you do, feed all winter? Around here they won't break cluster or even move much at all (hence they sometimes starve with loads of honey around them) for a month or more depending on if we get a sunny day above 35. Seems the "colder it is the less they feed" and "less likely to consume anything" I give them. That's why I'm curious about your bees. Spring and Fall are my most worrisome times of year as they go into and out of cluster seeking feed/eating winter stores and I'm actually relieve when temps finally stay cold. It sounds like that's what your whole winter is like. Is that right? If so, you must go through an awful amount of feed, heh?

thomas

In this area, I only have to leave about 35-40 lbs of honey for the bees. Since I started beekeeping in 2006, that is all I ever leave them and they make it to the Springtime. Well Springtime can start as early as February some years. I do have to check on them several times in January and February on warm days (meaning we can get temps into the 70's in February) and make sure they have not run out. So far they have never run out, although they can get low.

Some winters I do place a couple frames of honey back into the super (I always leave several frames of honey in the freezer for them), but I believe they would be ok even if I did not do that. We have stuff blooming by January/February around here. They have never run out.

Last week we had unusually warm weather for a few days (about high 60's) and the bees were out foraging like crazy (bringing in pollen). I was worried then because we never have such warm weather in December and I just knew they were eating their stores like crazy. But I will check on them next warm day we have.

T Beek · December 15, 2010, 03:09:23 PM

Thanks, that's the info I was looking for.. Its always interesting to see how beeks cope in diferent parts of the world. I try to leave 60 plus lbs for winter but really have no way of estimating weight other than tipping and that doesnt always come out right, but I can usually tell if they need extra.

Its 20 F sunny and calm right now and I'm just in from checking. I could locate clusters in three of my langs with my stethascope "all on the sunny sides." Two other langs were quite. keeping my fingers crossed.

The big surprise was that my long hive cleaned house today. There were about thirty dead bees scatered about, some with death swirls aparent in the snow, within a few feet of the hive. Don't remember them getting around on days this cold before. I'll have to check some old calanders to see. Thanks again.

thomas