Feeding your Bees

At some point, all hives will more than likely need to be fed. If you’re lucky, you might have some extra frames of honey to feed your bees, but in most cases, you will need to whip up some sugar water. Keep reading to learn more about feeding your bees!

Feeding your bees

Some may say they would never feed their bees and they should be able to collect all their own nectar. I say that bees sometimes need a helping hand! I try to leave as much honey on for winter as I can, but winters in western New York can be pretty bad. I feed my hives every Spring and Fall. Thankfully, the nectar dearth during Summer isn’t bad at all around here, so I don’t feed the bees then.

It’s up to you if you feed your bees, but I highly recommend it.

Spring Feeding

In the Spring, between new hives and over-wintered hives, I can often be making gallons of sugar water. It’s a pretty easy recipe- just sugar and water! I also love to add something like Pro Health– not only is it good for the bees, but it will also help prevent syrup fermentation.

Make sure to use pure cane sugar! Many other types of sugar, like powdered, brown, and molasses, contain undigestable parts that will make your bees sick. I usually just buy bulk amounts of human-grade sugar from the store when it’s on sale. This is fine when you don’t have many hives. Some beekeeping supply sites do sell bulk sugar, but it’s by the ton in many cases.

Each season has a different ratio of water to sugar. For spring, you will be making a 1:1 water to sugar mixture. This means one cup of water for every one cup of sugar. You can also measure by weight, 1 pound of water for every 1 pound of sugar. The measurements don’t need to be exact, so either works fine.

Note that if you add a half-gallon of water to a half-gallon of sugar, you will not get a gallon of syrup. The sugar dissolves into the water and will be lower. Add your supplement (by following the directions on the container) last, so that you have the most correct volume measurement. I included a convenient recipe card below!

Feeding your bees in Spring is simple. First, make sure you do not put honey supers on any hive being fed. Now, add your preferred feeder and fill it with sugar water. Remove the feeder when the bees stop taking syrup. This syrup can also be used in Summer if needed.

Fall Feeding

As the cold months start rolling in, you will want to make sure your bees are as ready as possible. Feeding your bees before Winter starts is a good way to do this. You may think that all sugar water is the same. It shouldn’t be! In the Fall, we will be making a thicker syrup. This thicker syrup will be more like honey, instead of like nectar as the Spring syrup is.

You will want to feed your bees while it is above freezing. It is moisture that will kill your bees in the cold months! They need to store the syrup and dry it to about 17% moisture before capping it to save for Winter. High moisture syrup may ferment or mold and that won’t be healthy for your bees.

To make Fall syrup, we will use a two to one ratio of sugar to water. Since there is double the sugar in this recipe, I find it easiest to heat up (carefully!) on the stove to allow all sugar to properly dissolve. Remember to never let your sugar water come to a boil- that will create caramel. Delicious to humans, but not safe for bees. Below I have these instructions more detailed on a recipe card.

To feed in the Fall, ensure all honey supers are removed and add your preferred feeder. Fill with Fall syrup and monitor closely. When the bees stop taking syrup, remove the feeder and finish prepping your hive for Winter. Make sure the feeder is not left on if the weather is going to be below freezing for more than a day.

Winter Feeding

Winter feeding is more of an emergency situation than a usual practice. It shouldn’t need to be done in most cases, but if your bees are out of Winter stores then they will need to be fed.

For this time of year, the bees will be fed a fondant instead of any kind of syrup. We don’t want to introduce moisture to the hive! This is a product I buy from Kelley Bees instead of Mann Lake here.

Another option for feeding in the Winter is to make a top feeder that will hold solid sugar for the bees. I plan to do this for next Winter! I will create more detailed instructions once I do this. The quick version is to create a shim out of wood that will fit on top of your hive.

• Create your shim. Choose a height depending on how much feed you want for each hive.
• Drill a hole into the front for an entrance (sounds counter-intuitive, I know, but ventilation is good for Winter!).
• Staple 3/8″ mesh to the bottom.
• Now, mix about 10 pounds of pure cane sugar with just enough water to make it stick together.
• Place your shim onto a surface you don’t mind getting sugar on (like newspapers).
• Using a wood block or something similar, place in front of the entrance so it doesn’t get blocked by sugar.
• Spread the sugar mixture into the shim and allow it to dry.
• Place your new feeder on your hive, under the inner cover, in weather over 40 degrees.

This type of feeder is also great for managing moisture, as the dry sugar will absorb moisture that rises in the hive.

Last Notes

There are many different methods for feeding your bees, these were just a few of them! Some main things to remember are to never feed while you have honey supers on, never use a sugar besides pure cane (unless proven to be safe for bees), and never use a sugar product that has been cooked. I hope you have lots of fun feeding your bees and as always, feel free to ask me any questions!