Feeding bees for the winter: rules and deadlines, how many substances to give

In some cases, beekeepers face problems when breeding bees. One of them is the lack of food supplies for the winter. In such a situation, insects need to be fed using special carbohydrate food. To feed the bees for the winter, it is permissible to use different products - honey, sugar syrup, candy, honey-perg mixture. It is important to observe proportions and dosages.

How to feed the bees in winter

For winter feeding of bees, it is permissible to use a variety of products. At the same time, it is recommended to strictly follow the rules for preparing he althy mixtures.

Kandy

Kandy is considered one of the most effective types of bait for bees. It is a dough-like cake, which has a soft and pleasant texture. The advantage of candy is that this lure does not cause active reproduction of bees. This factor is of great importance. Feeding candy bees will help avoid overfeeding costs and reduce the stress on the bees.

To make kandy, you can use the following ingredients:

• 74% powdered sugar;
• 26% natural honey;
• 0.18% pure water;
• 0.02% acetic acid.

At the same time, experienced beekeepers try not to use this recipe, since honey includes various pathogens. Instead of this product, it is permissible to use invert sugar. In composition, it resembles honey, but does not contain a number of minerals.

To make this candy you will need the following ingredients:

• minimum 70% powdered sugar;
• 29.8% invert sugar;
• 0.18% pure water;
• 0.02% acetic acid.

To make kandy, it is recommended to consider the following features:

• powdered sugar should not contain starch;

To make a cake, you need to do the following:

1. Heat honey or invert sugar to +60 degrees. After that, it needs to be cooled to +38 degrees.
2. After the mass has cooled to the optimum temperature, add powdered sugar. At the same time, it is recommended to stir the composition all the time to avoid the formation of lumps.
3. Sprinkle the board with powdered sugar and spread the thick mixture. After that, the dough must be kneaded for half an hour so that it stops sticking to your hands.
4. When properly made, kandy will not fall apart or flow.
5. Tin cans are suitable for storing the composition.

Sugar syrup

Bees can be fed sugar syrup. To prepare a quality top dressing, you need to use good sugar, not industrial waste. It is important to keep the proportions, namely, to take 2 parts of water and 3 parts of sugar.

To make the desired composition, the water must be brought to a boil, removed from the stove and gradually add all the sugar. In this case, the mass must be stirred regularly.

It is strictly forbidden to bring the mixture to a boil. If the syrup burns, it should not be used to feed the bees, as this composition will harm them.

Ready syrup needs to be cooled to +40 degrees and added to the vinegar essence. It is important to adhere to proportions. So, for 1 kilogram of sugar you will need 0.3 milliliters of essence. It must first be diluted with water to obtain a concentration of 3%.

This top dressing is recommended to be given in a wooden feeder, setting it on the nest. For 1 time, insects need 5 liters of the composition. It is recommended to feed the bees in the evening when they are in a calmer state.

Honey-perg mix

To feed the bee family, you can make a honey-perg mixture. To do this, it is recommended to take the following components:

• 1 kilogram of honey;
• 500 milliliters of hot water;
• 500 grams of perga.

All components must be thoroughly mixed and passed through a sieve. Leave for 2 days to infuse, then use 500 milliliters per 1 bee colony. This must be done at intervals of 2 days. Feed should be poured into combs and feeders.

Honey

If the bees do not have enough of their reserves, they need to give additional honey. For this, it is recommended to use a good-quality sealed product. However, you can't keep it outside. The mass must be preheated in a warm room.

If there is no such honey, you can use centrifugal. To make it, you need to mix each kilogram of beekeeping product with a glass of water. The resulting composition must be heated on a steam bath until the crystals are completely dissolved. The finished product is recommended to be poured into the feeders in a warm form.

How to calculate quantity

The average amount of food is determined by the strength of the colony and the number of frames in the corner. So, 1 nesting frame measuring 435x300 millimeters with 2 kilograms of food is enough for a bee colony for 1 month.

After winterization is over, bee families that sit on 10 frames should have 15-20 kilograms of honey and 1-2 frames of bee bread for feeding.

Organization of feeding

To properly feed the bees, it is important to do it very carefully. Any careless movements can cause premature flight and lead to the death of insects. Therefore, when laying food, it is not recommended to disturb the nest.

To feed the Kandy bees, the composition should be placed in bags of 0.5-1 kilogram and slightly flattened. As a result, it is required to obtain cakes with a thickness of 2-3 centimeters. It is necessary to make holes in the film and place the cakes under the canvas or ceiling board.In this form, top dressing will not dry out. The terms of feeding bees in this way are 3-4 weeks.

Possible errors

When feeding bees, inexperienced beekeepers make the following mistakes:

• incorrect calculation of feed volume;
• excessive crystallization of honey;
• using honeydew honey to feed bees;
• wrong nest collection.

When feeding is not needed

Bees should not be fed unless absolutely necessary. This process is a serious stress for insects, which can lead to their death. With a sufficient amount of food and peaceful behavior of the bees, it is not necessary to feed them.

Feeding bees for the winter should be carried out only when absolutely necessary. For this, it is permissible to use honey, candy, sugar syrup. Be sure to follow the rules of nutrient application so as not to harm the bees.

Recommended