Mailing list for the Person County Beekeepers Association, Roxboro, NC

[Randall Austin <s.randall.austin AT gmail.com>]

That's a nice website Whitney. Thanks!

There are a million ways to feed and they all work. A couple of suggestions for folks who may be like me:

At my house, our hot water is child-safe so isn't "piping hot" out of the tap. I boil water in a large pot (like a canning pot). When it boils I REMOVE IT FROM THE HEAT and add sugar in the proportions the instructions indicate (for spring, half and half, either by volume or weight [the difference isn't important]). I don't mix up huge batches at a time -- only a couple of gallons each, enough to feed right then (I don't store it). That's just me.

It is important to NEVER COOK THE SUGAR. Doing so can create a byproduct that is harmful to bees. So remove the boiling-hot water from the heat before adding sugar.

Let the sugar syrup cool before putting it on the bees. A half hour to an hour is usually plenty of time for it to be cool enough to leave your finger in it, which should be cool enough not to harm the bees.

The proportions of sugar and water for spring and fall are "close enough" amounts. The bees won't die if we make the syrup a bit too thin or a bit too thick. Good enough is good enough.

Folks may want to read a short article <here> on feeding, which explains WHY we must feed packages even though the spring nectar flow is on.

Randall Austin


On 4/26/2016 7:25 AM, Whitney Barnes wrote:

Please let us know if you are an experienced beekeeper and would be willing to assist any of our new beekeepers in releasing their packages any time between Thursday and this weekend.

 

If you are a new beekeeper and would like to have someone come and assist you with releasing your bees, please let us know that also.  Several people gave us their contact information at the meeting, but if there are others out there, please let us know by tomorrow.

 

And lastly, if you are going to be setting up new hives, please go NOW and stock up on 10lbs bags of sugar.  You will need about 20 lbs of sugar for 3 gallons of water.  It takes 3 to 4 gallons of water to fill two hive top feeders.  I hate math so I found this website had the best syrup recipes/purpose http://www.virginiahoneybee.com/content/feeding-mixing-water-and-sugar  I have found its easiest to mix it up in 5 gallon buckets which can be purchased at local hardware stores.  Just don’t mix it up before Thursday as it can mildew very quickly.

 

Whitney

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