As beekeepers, our job is to help our bees remain strong in the home we put them in and to keep them there. Part of the reason we inspect our colonies is to find out what their needs are/ Do they need more room or less room? Do they need help with pests or diseases? Do they have enough food for the time of year it is? From there, we make decisions on whether to intervene or not. 

When to Feed Bees

It can be confusing to know when to do things as a new beekeeper. That is why we all read books, go to club meetings and watch YouTube videos constantly. For me, I have found that Jamie Ellis of the University of Florida (or is it Georgia now?) has the perfect protocol for maintaining his backyard bees and managing when to feed.

Here it is:

1. Maintain a single deep brood box (or 2 medium boxes)
2. Use a single medium box above the brood box as the colony’s constant food supply.
3. Keep that medium box always at least half full of honey. Feed 1:1 sugar syrup when you have anything less than 5 frames of honey in that box. 
4. Once the medium box is full, don’t feed. Any mediums above that food store is yours to harvest at any time of year.
5. For Pollen, which is the protein source needed to raise brood, try to maintain at least one side of a frame of stored pollen in the brood box. You can offer pollen substitute when resources are low and the bees will take it if they need it. Usually this is late summer into late fall.

That’s it. Simple. 

What to Feed Bees?

In nature, bees collect nectar for carbohydrates that fuel their energy-consuming tasks. Excess nectar is stored as honey for times when nectar is unavailable. Nectar is, on average, about 80% water. In order for bees to store this food source, they must dehydrate it to about 18% water to prevent fermentation. In order for bees to digest honey, they need to add water to it so that it is more like nectar again. With this in mind, the best replacement for nectar is a 1:1 sugar syrup made with water and white, processed sugar. Many first year beekeepers mistakenly use natural sugar crystals for their syrup because it seems a better option. We view white sugar as detrimental. However, to a bee whose diet is primarily sucrose, white sugar is perfect. In fact, natural forms of sugar can cause digestive problems in bees.

The recipe for 1:1 sugar syrup is easy.

• 1 cup of sugar to 1 cup hot water.
• 1 gallon of sugar to 1 gallon of hot water
• 1 bucket of sugar to 1 bucket of hot water
• 1 yogurt container of sugar to 1 yogurt container of hot water

You get the idea. You aren’t weighing anything. Just volume. You can’t mess it up.

Bees also need pollen

Pollen is the protein source needed for brood production. However, when feeding pollen to bees we don’t collect it from flowers or from pollen traps. We buy powdered pollen substitute that is specifically formulated with bees in mind. You’ll know when your bees need it because they will be stealing it from your chicken and horse feed. I prefer to feed dry poll substitute and allow the bees to collect it on their legs as they do real pollen. You can also make pollen patties like this, or buy them pre-made. These patties consist of sugar syrup and pollen, so basically killing two birds with one stone, sort of.

How to Feed Bees

There are a number of options for feeding bees. For a bare-bones feeder, you can take a jar with a solid lid (not a 2-part canning lid) and use a nail to create several pinholes in it. Then fill the jar with syrup and place it upside down over two shims on top of the inner cover of your hive. Place another box over that, followed by the cover so other bees and ants can’t access it. If you bought a kit with an entrance feeder, use that inside the hive as I just described. DO NOT USE ENTRANCE FEEDERS AT THE ENTRANCE. This can very often call robber bees to your hive. You will have to refill these jars often because they don’t have much capacity.

Try One of These for Easier Feeding:

Apimaye top feeders with insulated cover for Langstroth hives You can buy this separately or it comes with your Apimaye hive.

Frame Feeders: One gallon feeders take the place of one frame, and two gallon feeders take the place of two frames.

Round Rapid Feeders: Use this inside a box on top of the inner cover.

Top box Feeders: These probably hold the most syrup.

How to Feed Pollen Substitute

For Pollen Substitute, I recommend making your own feeder. 

• Lidded Bucket Feeder: Simply use a 2 inch hole drill bit to make holes about 3 inches apart and 4 inches down from the rim of a 5 gallon bucket.  Add a few inches of pollen substitute, secure the lid, and hang from a tree branch using the handle.

You can buy Ultra Bee Pollen Substitute from beekeeping supply stores or Amazon. If you are part of the Arizona Backyard Beekeepers Association, be on the lookout for our yearly Ultra Bee Pollen Substitute order. It is usually in July.

And remember, the best food for bees comes from flowers, so find out what blooms when bees most need it and plant those things. Encourage your neighbors to plant them as well. Your bees go far and wide to find food, so your message to grow for the bees should too.

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