Candy Board Versus Dry Sugar

[Romahawk]

It seems that most of you think a candy board is better that syrup for winter feed and I have seen a couple of people who posted they use dry sugar above the inner cover. If we rule out syrup because of the possible moisture problem which would then become the better alternative, a candy board or the dry sugar above the inner cover? I have one hive that will probably not make it with out a little feeding. I really don't want to combine it with another of my hives and I don't want to rob the other three of stores.

[Finsky]

If we rule out syrup because of the possible moisture problem which would then become the better alternative, a candy board or the dry sugar above the inner cover?

Impossible to understand this idea. Bees consume 40 lbs sugar or honey during winter in my country. It is same what bee uses  the sugar turns to water and carbon diokside when it burns in respiration.  And if bees eat dry sugar, it generates same volume of water.

How do you put 40 lbs dry sugar on the top of hive? It makes two buckets.

What do you have in combs? honey or air. Do you put a little sugar on inner cover but truly bees eat honey from combs?  So you have a hole in inner cover which ventilates moist air from hive. You may do the hole in front wall and bees go fine.

Moist air makes no problems to bees if you give to colony proper veltilation. There is no need to feed them all the time across winter and across summer.

[Michael Bush]

I've never done a candy board.  I've fed a bit of dry sugar to nucs before, but never to a hive.

Syrup is what you use to build stores when it's warm enough for them to put it away.  Sugar or candy is starvation food to keep them from dying because you DIDN'T get them enough stores for the winter.  They will not take it, they will only eat it when they are starving.  BUT they CAN eat sugar when it's cold and they can't take syrup when it's cold.

[Robo]

Neither is better. The difference is the method of delivery to the bees.  Dry sugar on top of the inner cover requires temperatures warm enough for the bees to break cluster to get it(as would candy unless it is placed directly over the innercover hole).  Candy can be placed right on the top of the frames so as the bees run low on food and progress up the hive, they will move right onto the candy.  You can also put newspaper on top of the frames with slits in it and then put dry sugar. 
Although the candy is a little bit more work to do, it is a lot easier to feed and clean up. What they don't use can easily be removed and stored, whereas dry sugar is not so easy to take back :?

[Finsky]

Robo, why don't you feed hives into combs enough? So you need not to play with solid sugar.

[Romahawk]

My temperatures here will be in the 40 to 50 degree range for the next week. Will bees take syrup at those temperatures or is it to late for that? If not it sounds like the candy board on top of the frames may be what I will try.

[Kris^]

Sugar or candy is starvation food to keep them from dying because you DIDN'T get them enough stores for the winter. 

That's the reason I put a sugar board on my hives, with 10 -- 15 lbs. of candy in them.  It's my understanding that a colony will use more food during a mild winter than during a colder one, because they will be more active and in a less tight cluster.  In New Jersey, it's less cold than in Finland. :-D  I usually get a hive full of syrup before winter sets in, but you never know whether they'll be flying in mid-January, or what.  If the board has candy left in it, I've wrapped it in plastic to keep the ants out and used it again the next year.

-- Kris

[Brian D. Bray]

Bees will begin to move around (Break cluster) in the hive when temperatures rise above 45 degrees F, usually for more than just a single day.  Once bees begin to move around after a prolonged period of cluster they may go into a premature spring mode which will use up the stores in a hurry as the bees begin rearing brood.  In this case it becomes necessary to feed to keep a hive that was thought to have sufficient stores in the fall alive until spring.

[Finsky]

We have had already snow cover  3 weeks.

But would you imagine that bee and their habits have not developed in Finland. Bee's origin is In Africa and it sread to North up to Germany. In Finland it has never been natural honey bees.

The habit that bees gather honey and cap it in combs have developed in southern climate, the level of Texas or something. There are dry seasons and winters and rains, why honey bee make it's stores.

No one has gived candy or dry sugar to bees 100 years ago. I read from 150 year old German arvice how to avoid if bees have not enough food after winter: Boil carrots and give juice to bees.

[Brian D. Bray]

My Great-Grandfather, 1867 to 1949, used to use Beet juice.

[Finsky]

My Great-Grandfather, 1867 to 1949, used to use Beet juice.

Was it sugar beet?  Here it is said that normal sugar content is 17%.
http://www.sucrose.com/learn.html#s2

RAISE YOUR OWN WINTER SUGAR FOR BEES! expected sugar production is only about 7 tons per hectare.  When you have 10 m x 10 m  plot, you get 70 kg sugar.

[Cindi]

My Great-Grandfather, 1867 to 1949, used to use Beet juice.

Some intereting stuff about juices for bees.  I have an enormous amount of beets that I just pulled out of my garden a couple of days ago.  I have frozen, canned, dehydrated so many beets already, that I was at a loss of what to do with the excess beets.  I only like to have enough vegetables stored of any variety for one year, whichever way I preserve, so I was wondering what to do with the excess of beets.  I know that every year come the end of summer I will have new and fresh vegetables for storage for the next season.  So, I need to know, how were the bees fed the juice, poured into combs, I imagine that this could be found on the internet somewhere, but let's go right to the source of our great grandparents and find out if someone down through the ages remembers these informations.  Beets are probably one of the most sweetest and yummy vegetables, other than certain cultivars of carrots for sure.  Cindi

[Michael Bush]

Sugar beets only vaguely resemble red beets.  The sugar content is dramatically differernt

[Cindi]

Sugar beets only vaguely resemble red beets.  The sugar content is dramatically differernt

Yikes!!! and I thought a beet was a beet.  I will investigate procedure on how to get nourishment for the bees from these beets.  I looked up the sugar beet on the net and man they really are different than our regular red beets.  I see that they are white and enormous, weighing 2 pounds and up, probably to about 5 pounds or so, and the root can be a foot long, Wow.  I see that the beet can contain 18% sugar or so.  Amazing.  I am going to obtain seed for the sugar beet and grow a harvest here.  I see it matures within about 100 days or so.  We have a long growing season here.  We can even begin planting some things as early as February/March, and our killing frosts don't usually come until the last part of October.  Then it mostly is rainy, not an awful lot of freezing temps, our coldest month is January, at which time we can have quite a few cold frozen days. Cindi

[Mici]

you probably have red beets

http://www.storzek.net/cebelarstvo-ma-ja/
search for: "Pridelava meda v satju s sokom rdeče pese"

pictures don't speak for themselves so...
short and laic translation would be, squize the red beet juice, mix it with honey, feed it to bees, and you have red beet juice powered honey which is good for your heart, nervous system, against astma and bronhitis. i think it is also said to be good against cancer.



don't know about you, but sugar beets is out of the question for me, since it is harvested..i think in october, anyway, to late, bees are supposed to be fed by then

[Jeff L]

Cindi, sugar beets are big and brown, and around the size of a football. Just not bee food for the average beek. They also wont fit in a blender, so forget about that idea. They have been grown in our area for years, and are big ol ugly things with a very long growing season. Definitely not a home garden vegetable. They look like a potato on steroids. Yeccch!


Jeff

[Cindi]

Cindi, sugar beets are big and brown, and around the size of a football. Just not bee food for the average beek. They also wont fit in a blender, so forget about that idea. They have been grown in our area for years, and are big ol ugly things with a very long growing season. Definitely not a home garden vegetable. They look like a potato on steroids. Yeccch!


Jeff

Jeff, ha, ha, your comments give me an enormous desire to try to grow sugar beets.  I have room to grow anything that I want at my place, I have very fertile ground everywhere.  I live on 5 acres and am cultivating more and more areas every year.  You actually would not believe the cultivation that I have done, along with my Sister.  she lives on our property with her 6 kids, kind of subdivided I guess, she is an avid gardener too, also a builder, she builds, works the land, and I work the land and the bees.   We have fun, everyone thinks stuff is work, but I always say I am going outside to have some fun, and fun it is!!!  We use turkey manure for our fertilizing needs, along with compost.  So I imagine we can find a way to grow these beets that are the size of footballs!  Can't wait.  I think our growing season would be certainly long enough, our last frost date is April 30 (but I always plant long before that) and our first killing frost is not generally until maybe the third week of October.  That gives a great long time to grow stuff.   Awesom day!!!  Cindi

[Jeff L]

Cindi, more power to ya! I also enjoy growing things just for the heck of it. I come from a rice farming background here in CA, and we leased our ground to beet growers for years until the Spreckles Sugar facility went under. In our soil they have a very long growing season due to the fact it's a hard clay soil and it takes the beets longer to form. Almost an annual here. In softer soils the growing season is around 150 days I think. So you could do it, no problem. They sure look like a giant potato, inside and out, when harvested. Maybe you could make fries, mash them, get sugar from them, or give them to your neighbors. Who knows. Good luck and have fun huh!! I enjoy your posts!

Jeff

[Cindi]

Indeed, aren't the posts so much fun.  Did your family grow different kinds of rice.  You get to get right inside all the fun stuff that people enjoy, having fun is great stuff.  I WILL GROW THE BEETS!!  AND I WILL WORK HARD TO USE THE BIPRODUCT FOR MY GIRLS.    I am planning on sowing mega amounts of so many annuals, as well as cuttings from my perennials to get forage for the girls that I love dearly.  I hear mustard is an incredible plant.  I plan on sowing brocooli everywhere, I will harvest the main bud to eat, and let all the rest go to seed.  I should bring a photo to show how the bees forage on the flowers of the brocolli.  All is good.  I am intending to grow Lobelia in a big way, I have seen how the bees love the Crystal Palace.  Great forage plant.  Does anyone know statistics about the pollen/nectar of this annual.????Cindi

[bee man]

here in michigan alot of hunters use sugar beet for deer bait. you can get a pick up load for about $25.00 that is a lot of sugar. and the deer go's crazy for them.