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Feeding my bees

PostPosted:17 May 2019, 17:52
by JohnB
Transferred my over wintered nuc into a full size hive a couple of weeks ago and gave them 1:1 sugar syrup. The weather has been quite poor since then so not a lot of foraging going on. Should I keep feeding until they have draw out all the foundation on the new frames. Any thought would be much appreciated.

Re: Feeding my bees

PostPosted:17 May 2019, 18:10
by Chrisbarlow
If they're taking the syrup , then yes.
We're quickly coming up to the June gap, I would keep feeding till a good Flow appears. They will build up much quicker and draw the comb quicker.

Re: Feeding my bees

PostPosted:17 May 2019, 21:50
by Patrick
Couldn’t agree more. A lot of the older books and recieved wisdom is based on times where the availability of natural forage in most areas was immeasurably better over much of the countryside between main crop flows. We now have to resort to feeding during the summer - it is bonkers.

It is a sad reality that in many places natural pickings are now often very thin between substantial planted crop flows. If this combines with poor flying weather, a small colony will do well to simply maintain itself let alone invest in comb building.

All my road verges locally having just come into flower with red campion, chervil and deadnettle etc have today been flailed back to the soil without any gain to road safety whatsoever simply to “look tidy”. It is hardly any surprise we are living through an age of natural invertebrate population collapse and consequently wild song bird declines and everything that goes with them. We are shortly going to live in the tidiest lifeless countryside in this islands history :x . It really does my head in!

Re: Feeding my bees

PostPosted:17 May 2019, 22:29
by JohnB
Chrisbarlow wrote:
17 May 2019, 18:10
If they're taking the syrup , then yes.
We're quickly coming up to the June gap, I would keep feeding till a good Flow appears. They will build up much quicker and draw the comb quicker.
Thanks Chris.

Re: Feeding my bees

PostPosted:17 May 2019, 22:32
by JohnB
Patrick wrote:
17 May 2019, 21:50
Couldn’t agree more. A lot of the older books and recieved wisdom is based on times where the availability of natural forage in most areas was immeasurably better over much of the countryside between main crop flows. We now have to resort to feeding during the summer - it is bonkers.

It is a sad reality that in many places natural pickings are now often very thin between substantial planted crop flows. If this combines with poor flying weather, a small colony will do well to simply maintain itself let alone invest in comb building.

All my road verges locally having just come into flower with red campion, chervil and deadnettle etc have today been flailed back to the soil without any gain to road safety whatsoever simply to “look tidy”. It is hardly any surprise we are living through an age of natural invertebrate population collapse and consequently wild song bird declines and everything that goes with them. We are shortly going to live in the tidiest lifeless countryside in this islands history :x . It really does my head in!
Thanks for your advice Patrick. I totally agree with your comments on verges being cut down for no benefit.

Re: Feeding my bees

PostPosted:17 May 2019, 23:37
by Caroline
Patrick wrote:
17 May 2019, 21:50
All my road verges locally having just come into flower with red campion, chervil and deadnettle etc have today been flailed back to the soil without any gain to road safety whatsoever simply to “look tidy”. It is hardly any surprise we are living through an age of natural invertebrate population collapse and consequently wild song bird declines and everything that goes with them. We are shortly going to live in the tidiest lifeless countryside in this islands history :x . It really does my head in!
I'm with you on this topic Patrick! In my local area we had a campaign to stop the needless devastation of valuable natural habitat, with some success. Here is a quote from the West Sussex County Council website:

Preserving wildlife
Although we cut and maintain grass verges for safety and visibility reasons, we also try to make sure we protect the environment as much as possible.

Where safety allows, we will preserve verges as havens for rare flowers and wildlife, resulting in longer grass in certain areas. These are known as 'notable road verges' and will remain uncut while the flowers are in bloom.


Get as many people as possible to write to your county council and lobby your district and town councils. It's worth a try.....

Re: Feeding my bees

PostPosted:18 May 2019, 07:28
by Alfred
Sory to be thick but ..
If I'm not overly botheed about honey this year,would I still need to feed?
My bees are swarms and a small nuc all arrived this week

Re: Feeding my bees

PostPosted:18 May 2019, 07:49
by Chrisbarlow
Alfred wrote:
18 May 2019, 07:28
Sory to be thick but ..
If I'm not overly botheed about honey this year,would I still need to feed?
My bees are swarms and a small nuc all arrived this week
It's all about flow and your particular area. Are they bringing in some good stores and are they expanding. Are they drawing out foundation. If the answer to these questions is no then feed. Swarms have a reputation for drawing out foundation very quickly when on a flow or fed. Personally I would feed as I suspect there won't be a flow on and you don't want honey. Incidently I would suggest some varroa control as well.

Re: Feeding my bees

PostPosted:18 May 2019, 09:18
by Jim Norfolk
Re Patrick's comment on loss of wild flowers and the June gap. Can we blame climate change which is making the spring flowers earlier as they are governed by temperature while the summer flowers, governed by day length, occur at about the same time as usual. This will prolong the gap.

I am against summer feeding but even more against letting bees die of starvation. Last year I summer fed for the first time so this year I am leaving them more of their honey.

Re: Feeding my bees

PostPosted:18 May 2019, 09:42
by Alfred
Chrisbarlow wrote:
18 May 2019, 07:49
Incidently I would suggest some varroa control as well.
Thanks Chris and sorry John for hijacking your thread
I'm not bothered about honey but a half dozen jars to appease certain folk would be a bonus.
Is it too late to use chemical treatment?
I have a bamboo skewer frame in each hive so I can try out drone trapping,and naturally all have mesh floors.