Bees are wild animals that forage on their own, but there are times when they could use a bit of help. As cool weather approaches, a number of questions come up:
Why should you feed your bees? And how should you do it? In this video, you’ll learn everything you need to know.
20 Comments
Really learned a lot from your free Bee feeding class just now. Want to know more about how you set up and trained your bees to visit a specific bird bath that has the salt
I think this might be fun. I like honey but seldom want to pay the cost. Esoecially for the store-bought stuff. Looking forward to learning a lot and maybe sharing something new.
I ‘m not venting the following in a mean spirited way but one of frustration. I find it shows the lack of depth of our insensitivity when a beekeeper promotes feeding bees anything but honey. Yes…there are probably only a few percentage of us that are not, but the crowd doing it wrong for a long time doesn’t make it right. Remember “everything” you stick in that hive is foreign material to that hive. It forces them to deal with it. God made bees to capture nectar the essence of the blossom, and then change that wondrous element into a super duper elixir that is hard to find anything that rivals against it. That amazing golden elixir, straight from the bosom of mother nature, called honey is literally their food. Not your food. Not your money source. It is first their food and should never be taken from them unless it is absolutely clear there is “more” than enough to get them through the worst of Springs. Loaded with minerals, vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants etc… The nectar made into honey, pollen, etc.. is “all” that they were meant to eat. Remember your bees are raising a new generation all the time. Don’t you want the absolute best food possible for them to promote a strong and healthy hive ??? So all you beekeepers that do not keep “more” than enough honey for your bees, that you have to feed them some worthless syrup made from “processed” sugar, and then say to yourselves “this sweet sugar syrup that should be good enough, it’ll do”, have committed a crime against nature in my book. You weaken your hive and are so blind to what you are doing. You just go along with the crowd and recycle that ignorance over and over. And if you’re new and are just getting a hive started them buy some frames of honey from a good source locally and if that is not enough buy more. That’s what you need to be feeding them all the time.
Chris I am new to beekeeping and I enjoyed your comment…I have used sugar water because that is what it seems everyone is doing…however I have questioned that practice as well…in the wild bees don’t eat sugar water…so why do people feed it to them? But being new it this I was not sure how to do anything else…no one else anywhere has said not to give them sugar water…. How can I supplement them with extra honey?
Michelle the best way to feed them honey is to leave more honey in your hive when you go to harvest.
FINALLY! I’m so glad you addressed this issue! I can’t stand the idea of giving these amazing creatures white sugar that is ‘poison’ for humans! How in the world does this make sense? Thank you so much for voicing this ridiculous pattern among beekeepers. It’s no wonder in my mind why our bees aren’t doing well as a whole!
Although what you said and the way you think is admirable, it is far from correct. Natural plant nectar is VERY similar to sugar water, it is mainly sucrose and water. It does NOT harm your bees when used as a supplement when NEEDED! There has been a lot of research done between nectars and sugar water in feeding to hummingbirds, that is why table sugar is used. Bees will NOT feed exclusively on sugar water when natural sources of food are available. With that said, there IS a product that should NOT be fed to bees, but many commercial beekeepers use and that is HFCS. HFCS is NOT the same as nectar or table sugar. The one thing that is spot on is that beekeepers need to ensure that the bees keep enough honey over winter for their survival needs. BUT there are instances when that is not possible, like when a swarm is captured too late in the year for them to build up adequately. In that case I remove a frame or two of honeys stores from another hive to supplement them – I can do that because I have 50+ hives, but the average backyard beek doesn’t have that luxury. Remember that “honey” is NOT a bee’s only food, they also need pollen (for protein), it is sometimes necessary to also provide a pollen/protein source over winter.
Feeding bees honey from an unknown sources increases the chance of spreading diseases. Much of the honey on the market has been adulterated.
Great information! I’m going to add the Himalayan sea salt to the bees water source and buy the Nectar Gold for spring feeding. Thank you Gene, love your site.
Please put me on your mail list for internet lessons. I am in the Blue Ridge in western NC and have several friends who raise bees and sell their honey. Mine would be only for my own consumption, and a feeling that bees are people, too. Bees’ Lives Matter — I think you need a bumper sticker!!! Please, offer classes for children to learn in school for less money, or make a program to be shown as educational for school children in hopes to get more people ingrained on the importance of bees from an EARLY AGE and onward. Thanks for considering my opinions.
We should all strive to be the change we would like to see. Volunteer to be the Bee Steward in your area. We have several programs in my community that are taught by volunteers. We have a program to educate at all of our Elementary Schools. My beekeeping friends and I visit many schools in our area to educate the community about honeybees. We also have a booth set up at our County Livestock Show that educate our community. Many of us set up at the local farmers market and fairs to spread the plight of our honeybees, the impact the honeybee has in our lives, how the extinction of the honeybee would impact our lives, and ways to help them thrive. I find volunteering for these educational opportunities very rewarding and well accepted by our community.
I actually have a question. I am not a beekeeper. It is winter now,and so far a mild winter. I live in middle Tennessee. I am a bird feeder and this year there are many bees at my bird feeders. I read about the bees coming for the powder from the cracked corn, etc. So I have been putting more out for them. BUT I wonder what else I can do for them. I think they are coming from my neighbors, across the road, which is about 3 acres away. He is not well, the neighbor, and I am not sure he is caring for his hives. I will be contacting them, but that does not help with the current bee issue. I do not mind them here. I want to do what is right by them, the bee’s. Any suggestions? Anything I am finding online is directed to bee keepers. I do not have a hive. They are free feeding.
Thanks.
Ina B.
If you enjoy the bees you can provide a “feeding station” for them just like you do for the birds. You can use dry sugar or a sugar syrup, but if you use a sugar syrup be sure to put small branches, leaves, or other “debris” in the syrup for the bees to climb on so they don’t drown. There are many videos on youtube showing how to feed bees.
I recently lost my one of my hives to yellow jackets- they were relentless this year. I have frames of honey that I did not process. I understand that feeding honey from another hive is not a good idea but would you recommend feeding this as opposed to sugar water when I install a new package in the spring?
If you know that your hive was healthy, just killed off by yellow jackets, then it is safe to say that the honey is ok. If the hive “mysteriously” died out, and you see no signs of disease, then it is probably ok. But if you believe that the hive had health issues then the honey shouldn’t be given to you bees. If you fear wax moths or hive beetles may be transmitted, you can freeze the frames for a couple of days to kill any eggs and larvae; be sure to thaw the frames before giving to you bees.
I wholeheartedly agree with Rattlerjake.
I really enjoyed the video.
Please include me in your mailing list.
Not a very successful want to be a beekeeper.
I have a question for you, I live in a city where we have bee’s but I can not find any one who have the hives, I go ahead and put out food for them using sugar water or surp or what ever I have just to make sure they have food to keep them alive no mater who’s bees thay are.
Our winter is around 50 to 80 but I only put food for them when the temp is around 70 to 80 and here we are in the desart where it is dry and starting winter not much for the bees to eat. Am I doing it right by feeding them some times to help them?
Thanks for your answer.
It doesn’t hurt to set up a feeding station for bees during “lean” times of the year. You can try to locate the hive by watching which direction they go when they leave your feeder. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=honey+bee+feeding+station+
Looked in my hives after a cold snap all were dead they were fine before . Didn’t seem to be a whole of bees but there is lots of honey