Sugar water question...

[Redbug]

I have been building my first year hives up. Still feeding sugar water 1:1 ratio. I have noticed the bees are filling all the comb in with it, and no real space for the queen or brood. I have stopped feeding for now to make them use up some of the deposited sugar water.

One beek nearby mentioned that if you feed the bees a 1:3 or 1:4 mix...one part sugar to three or four parts water...the bees will still make comb but not fill up the comb with the sugar water. It is more watered down the way natural nectar is.

Opinions? What do you recommend?

[beesNme]

hi Redbug

i am new to keeping bees this year, but i was told to stop feeding sugar water when there is a major flow on. so i wouldn't feed them unless they really need it.

[RHBee]

It sounds like they are sucking the syrup down pretty quickly, right? I don't know what type feeder you have but if you can stick with the 1-1 and reduce their access to the syrup.

[mikecva]

You did not say how many frames have brood, drawn comb or how many bees. I would think in your location, you would have plenty of pollen for the bees. If the nectar has stopped where you are and you have two full deeps or three full mediums, you can remove the feeder until you have bees for the winter then 2:1 just before you get really cold weather.  -Mike

[Redbug]

Good point Mike...

On my hive bodies, I have 2 deeps...10 frame hives...and the top deep on the hives probably have 4 frames or so filled out, but with sugar water, no brood etc. The partial comb they have started are also filled with sugar water. I would say the bottom hive bodies have around 4 frames of brood and have a good pattern and sugar water down there, too. Some capped honey/sugar water.

The main flow has about ended around here in central SC, but I think the hives are a bit sugar logged. I am using top feeders that can hold around 3 gallons. If I stop feeding for awhile and check their progress each week to get them unsugar logged, and more open cells for eggs...do you think a 1:2 or 1:3 ratio would be better? That is...build comb and not fill everything up with sugar water?

RHbee...good point about restricting flow, Never thought of that. Staple some hardware cloth to the feeder bottom leaving about 1 inch or so of access? 

BeeNme...I am new, also. I have 3 hives at the house and 3 hives at the farm. Jumped in with both feet and having fun. I originally started with two hives and wound up expanding my empire...by splits and swarms.

[sc-bee]

Sounds like you are on your way to honey binding your hive and creating a swarming condition. Did you have your hives during flow? That is when the feed should have been removed. At this time of year if the bees do not need the space for brood they will not draw the comb. They will just back fill everywhere. If you have a strong hive and they need brood pace try rotating brood comb between drawn pulled out brood frames. I have never had luck getting bees to draw out comb by feeding once the flow is over.
And yes your flow is most likely over but it has been a weird year. I got very little. Pitiful..... my buddies in the Ridge Spring - Batesburg area got twice as much.

[SCPossum]

Funny how things work....Tuesday night I received information about this very subject.  I was told if you go from 1:1 to 1:2 (1 part sugar to 2 parts water) the bees will continue to build comb, but will not store the extra in the cells. I was told that the young bees that are building comb will take it the same as 1:1 and the wax production will not suffer.  That info saved me half of my sugar cost as I was feeding them to get comb drawn.

Hey Redbug!  Did you get the info from the same guy I did?  Maybe not since our ratios are different.  Anyway, I went to 1:2 on Wed and they seem to be taking it in the same proportion.  

sc-bee, Last week they drew 6/10 frames of foundation.  This week they slowed way down.  I moved some of the empty foundation down to the bottom in hopes they would continue to draw a little more. 

[Redbug]

Hey Possum! Yes I did! And I wanted to see what the folks say before cutting back.

Just thinking a little more about it...doesn't raw nectar only have a sugar amount of 60% to 20% depending on the plant? 1:3 would be around 30%. Right?

[loumaro]

  1:3 is 25% sugar and 75% water =100%

Louie

[Joe D]

Like SC-bee said, if you don't watch they will fill the comb with sugar water and the queen will leave with most of the bees.  I had a local beek  a couple of weeks ago that was still giving his bees corn syrup and wondering why they were leaving.  If the queen has no room to lay she's gone.  Good luck




Joe

[Redbug]

Like SC-bee said, if you don't watch they will fill the comb with sugar water and the queen will leave with most of the bees.  I had a local beek  a couple of weeks ago that was still giving his bees corn syrup and wondering why they were leaving.  If the queen has no room to lay she's gone.  Good luck

Joe

Thanks Joe. That's sort of what I was thinking, too. Good advise SCBee. I am turning the bee feeding off for a little bit and make the workers use some of the uncapped sugar water up. Later, I will feed them 1:3 or so and see how they do. That's how we learn. And it saves a little on the sugar bill.

Thanks Possum! And my math ain't too good Louie...uggg.

[sc-bee]

 I just made a few splits. I will certainly give it a try as I have never gone below 1:1. It is easier to get them to draw frames in the brood chamber between two full brood frames. On a side note you got to watch what dem guys down there in Lexington tell you :)

[RHBee]

I just made a few splits. I will certainly give it a try as I have never gone below 1:1. It is easier to get them to draw frames in the brood chamber between two full brood frames. On a side note you got to watch what dem guys down there in Lexington tell you :)

I've never used less than 1-1 either. Sounds like it could work. I'll try it and see how it goes.  Thanks.

[BeeMaster2]

In order to control the bees from back filling the brood area, reduce the number of holes in the feeder. This does not work with a frame feeder since they have total access.
Jim

[Intheswamp]

If the queen is running out of drawn comb to lay in your approaching a dangerous time.  You could take a comb or two that is filled with syrup and shake it out (better to shake it into a pan or something rather than on the ground so as not to ignite a robbing frenzy.  Then place the emptied comb next to the brood area.

Ed

[Michael Bush]

>Opinions? What do you recommend?

I would have stopped feeding in April.  You are lucky they haven't swarmed three times by now...

[SCPossum]

>Opinions? What do you recommend?

I would have stopped feeding in April.  You are lucky they haven't swarmed three times by now...

Does this apply to NUCs hived in late May?  Just wondering. Before I was feedeing 1:1. They started putting it up so I moved it to the top partially drawn deep along with two frames of brood. I then took some undrawn foundation and put it in the bottom deep. Now I have switched to the 2:1 ratio as of last Wed. Plan to take a peek tomorrow and see what has been done in the top deep.

[iddee]

They have to spread the syrup out to get it to evaporate. The weaker the solution, the more space they need. They only store it when it is condensed. While processing it, they are constantly moving it around. So yes, the thinner it is, the more wax they will draw to use for condensing.

[hjon71]

They have to spread the syrup out to get it to evaporate. The weaker the solution, the more space they need. They only store it when it is condensed. While processing it, they are constantly moving it around. So yes, the thinner it is, the more wax they will draw to use for condensing.

That's interesting...
Is there a reference to this you could point me to, or is that from experience/observation?

[iddee]

From 40 years of reading. I have no idea where I read it, but many times. They say it takes the space of 4 frames of nectar to make a frame of honey.