Feeding Bees and Starvation

Low Food Stores

apiarymanager Feeding Bees and Starvation, PBKA

Message from the National Bee Unit!

In some regions of the UK beekeepers have reported excessive use of food stores due to the un-seasonally warm weather. It would be advisable that you check your colonies have adequate stores and add supplements if required. With the weather being quite variable, fondant is the best option not liquid feed.

For those of you thinking about treating your colonies with Oxalic acid, we remind you to only use approved products Api-bioxal or Oxuvar and to administer the treatment by label instruction only.

Further information about colony feeding and keeping good and accurate medicine records can be found on our website at www.nationalbeeunit.com

Colonies short of food?

apiarymanager Feeding Bees and Starvation

Following the poor summer and general lack of honey during the main flow, many beekeepers are reporting that their colonies are short of food.

Could we therefore suggest as a matter of urgency, that you check your colonies for stores and if necessary put on feeders of syrup? Also, remember to check your colonies are queenright and monitor/treat for Varroa as appropriate!

Starvation Warning from the National Bee Unit

apiarymanager Feeding Bees and Starvation, National Bee Unit

Beekeepers may wish to monitor their colony food levels closely over the next month as many colonies, particularly those which are strong and had their spring honey crop removed, will be at risk of starving. In some parts of the UK, the weather is still cold and foraging opportunities for large colonies are few and far between. It is important to check and monitor all your colonies feed levels, if you do not wish to open them up because of poor weather, lift below the floor, in turn, on both sides of the hive to see how much it weighs. Where the hive is light, liquid feed should be applied directly above the bees. Feed can be prepared from refined white sugar and water mixed at a 2:1 ratio or one of the proprietary ready mixed syrups available from Beekeeping equipment suppliers. More information about mixing up sugar can be found in the Best Practice Guidelines no. 7 http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/index.cfm?pageid=167

Large starving colonies of bees will take 1 gallon (approx. 5 Litres) of syrup very quickly while smaller colonies will take half a gallon (approx. 2.5 Litres). After feeding, heft the hives again and check the weight and if in doubt feed some more in a few days.

Colony Starvation

apiarymanager Feeding Bees and Starvation

Nectar flows have ceased and reports are coming in of bee colonies which are short of stores. It is also apparent that Wasps have been very populous in many areas and they too are desperate for nutrition so Beekeepers should be mindful of the need to protect hives from Wasp invasion particularly where feeding is taking place in the apiary.

Colonies particularly at Risk are:

• Bee Colonies where supers of honey have been removed this season and no feeding has taken place.

• Splits / Artificial Swarms and Nucleus colonies made up this year.

• Swarms collected this year where little or no supplementary feeding has taken place.

Immediate action:

• Firstly – Check all colonies feed levels by ‘hefting the hive’ – Check the weight of the colony by lifting below the floor on both sides of the hive to see how much it weighs. Where the hive is light, liquid feed should be applied directly above the bees. Remove any supers from above the brood box which are empty or have few bees in them. This will help the bees get to the food quickly.

• Feed can be sugar and water mixed at 2:1 ratio or one of the proprietary ready mixed syrups available.

• Fondant can be used in an emergency if nothing else is available – but liquid feed will be more appropriate at this time of the season.

• Large starving colonies of bees will take 1 gallon (Approx 5 Litres) of syrup very quickly – smaller colonies ½ gallon (Approx 2.5 Litres) may be sufficient to keep them going, but after feeding heft hives again and check the weight – if in doubt feed some more in a few days time.

Further information and Guidance:

Further information on supplementary feeding can be found on Beebase – Best Practice Guideline Number 7 – ‘Emergency Feeding’

http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/index.cfm?pageid=167