Feeding the colonies with old honey

Almost every beekeeper has situations when unsold marketable honey from previous seasons remains, or as a result of the death of families in the winter, the autumn gathering of bees, the formation of nests in the winter and similar reasons, a certain amount of frames with old honey remains.

On beekeeping forums, novice beekeepers often ask questions, is it possible to feed bees with old honey, how and when is it right to do it? Our answer is unequivocal – it is not only possible, but also necessary to feed the winged workers with old honey. This type of feeding is preferred over all others!

The content of the article

  • 1 Why can you feed
  • 2 Winter feeding
  • 3 Spring and summer feeding

Why can you feed

When stored properly, honey retains its nutritional properties indefinitely.

There are gourmets who order honey of ten, twenty, or more years of aging from beekeepers, believing that from such a long storage it acquires a particularly refined taste and special healing properties.

Honey of any age is suitable for feeding bees.

Winter feeding

If it becomes necessary to feed the bee colonies in winter or early spring, when the bees are in the club, the following actions must be taken:

1)If we have already pumped out old honey, we put it in cheesecloth, newspaper, plastic bag. We make holes the size of a match head on the bottom side (further, as needed, the bees themselves will gnaw the wrapper). Or we use a plastic container, as in the photo below, with a tightly closed lid and holes in it (made with a red-hot needle).

openings

2)We raise insulation and ceiling boards. Above the club, we put two slats 8-10 mm thick perpendicular to the upper bars of the frames (so that the bees can move freely between the streets). Then we lay out the bag of food and insulate it again.

Note: You don’t need to moisten honey with water! The moisture released by the bees during hibernation, plus the rising heat from the club, will themselves melt it to a state suitable for bees.

3)If there is only honey within the frames, you must first carefully examine them. If the frames are removed from the hive with a dead family, it is necessary to determine the cause of death.

When the bee colony dies from nosematosis or foulbrood diseases, the remaining frames cannot be given for feeding!

To read:

How to cure bees in spring from nosematosis

Signs of foulbrood in bees and treatment of the disease

4) Then the combs should be examined for fermented honey and traces of diarrhea on the bars. If there are traces of diarrhea, it is recommended to scrape the frames thoroughly with a chisel.

As for the admissibility of feeding the bees with fermented nectar, there are opposite opinions among different beekeepers: from a categorical ban to the opinion that the bees will figure it out themselves – they will eat everything useful, and throw away everything harmful. In our apiary, without extreme need, we prefer not to give fermented honey products to bees.

5)After inspecting and preparing the frames, we raise the insulation in the same way, put the slats, open the hatch and install the frame right above the nest. It is not necessary to moisten with water. Then we carefully insulate it.

6)After a week, the frame must be turned over. And after another week, if necessary, you can give the next frame.

Spring and summer feeding

In the warm period of the year, it is even easier to feed the bee colonies with the old honey stock. After the implementation of all the above preparatory measures, the frames are sprayed with warm water, the comb breaks the integrity of the backing. After that, the honeycombs are installed behind the outpost board or in the second building.

In the spring, this event additionally contributes to the early awakening of the bribery instinct in families.… The downloaded honey, if it has already crystallized, is best melted in a water bath, but in no case brought to a boil. Then mix it with boiled water in a one-to-one ratio.

Feeding bees is best done in ceiling feeders..

Feeding the colonies with old honey Feeding the colonies with old honey

Photo source for the gallery: prom.ua

You can use the microwave oven at 20% power setting. Top dressing is heated to a liquid state in a suitable container, for example, in the same plastic bucket-container.

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Anna Evans

Author ✓ Farmer

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