We seldom feed our bees, but it is always great to have a few Honey Bee Feeding Recipes on hand. EMAIL us your questions we mite use it as a blog post.
We manage a little over 200 colonies. We currently do not provide pollinating contracts, so we do not need a strong spring build up.
Our focus is collecting High quality Mesquite honey, which blooms around June. Yet, there are time we and you will need to feed them little buggers.
For us, a late season cut-out is just about the only reason we feed. Honey is the best feed for bees, so in the case of a late season cut-out we will steal a few frames of honey from a strong colony.
Doing so will ensure they survive the winter. Check the weights of your hives, if they fell light then feed. Remember, honey is the best.
Sugar Syrup
By far the simplest, for winter feeding I go 50/50, by weight. Just bring your desired volume of water to a boil. Turn of heat and mix in the same weight of sugar until completely dissolved.
You can then, put syrup into your feeder and there you go. You can open feed with a five gallon bucket if you prefer, but only your strong bees will get the full advantage.
Feed only the bees that need it. Open feeding is an option, but only the strongest colonies benefit from that. Putting the feed inside the hive is the better option.
Just put your syrup into a freezer zip lock baggy, place above the brood, cut a one inch slit in the middle of the bag and cover. Make sure you use a spacer to give the bees room to work.
Dry sugar/candy
Same idea as the syrup, just no liquid to possibly drown the bees. You can sprinkle some dry sugar around the hole of the inner cover and close it up.
This candy recipe is for large amounts, just adjust for your needs. You will need 15 pounds of sugar, 3 pounds of glucose or light corn syrup, 4 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tarter.
Dissolve all ingredients in the water by boiling and stirring until temp reaches 242 degrees. Turn of heat and stir until thick. Pour it into your molds and let cool.
You can use just about anything for a mold, I know of some that just roll it into balls. LOL
Place around hole of inner cover, just like the dry sugar. Your bee are gonna love it.
CAUTION
Do not open your hives if the outside temp is below 50 degrees.