During the spring, a beekeeper’s thoughts turn to thinking of an immensely successful upcoming year. As eternal optimists, beekeepers expect a great season with plenty of sweet victories to be had.
But yet, as in much of life, the start of a new venture is the hardest. The same goes for honey bees starting their new home. Whether in a tree or in a beekeeper’s box, they have to build a lot of honeycombs from scratch. The energy to build the comb comes from flowers. When bee colonies can no longer find sufficient amounts of nectar due to natural or artificial factors, a nectar dearth or honey dearth occurs.
When there are no flowers in bloom, bees, who have keepers, are usually given sugar syrup. It’s not ideal, but it is often a necessary evil. The beekeeper is the bee’s best help when it is time to provide extra food for the bees when they can’t collect it themselves, often in the form of bee syrup .
Learn the essential sugar syrup ratios and methods for feeding bees during different seasons, supporting their health and colony growth.
Proper sugar syrup feeding helps sustain bee colonies during nectar shortages. This guide covers ratios, mixing tips, and common mistakes to avoid.
Feeding bees sugar syrup can support colony survival when natural nectar is scarce. Find best practices to ensure bee health and prevent honey contamination.
Table of Contents
Understanding Sugar Syrup for Honey Bees The Question Always Comes Up, "Do I Mix Sugar Water For Bees By Weight Or By Volume?". Making Sugar Syrup for Bees Sugar Syrup Options and Considerations QUICK MATH ON FEEDING BEES Common Mistakes to Avoid Honey Contamination and Sugar Syrup Best Practices for Feeding Bees
Understanding Sugar Syrup for Honey Bees
Sugar syrup is a vital component of beekeeping, particularly for newly established colonies or during periods of low honey production.
This mixture of sugar and water provides a readily available source of energy for honey bees, especially when natural nectar sources are scarce.
By supplementing the bees’ diet with sugar syrup, beekeepers can help maintain the health and survival of their colonies during times of low nectar flow or when honey stores are running low.
Understanding the importance of sugar syrup and how to make it correctly is crucial for ensuring the well-being of your bees.
Read More on How Much Does Honey Weigh in our blog post.
The Question Always Comes Up, "Do I Mix Sugar Water For Bees By Weight Or By Volume?".
The ratio for the mixture of sugar to water varies, but there are rules of thumb for beekeepers to follow. 1 part sugar to 1 part water is what beekeepers will give their brand-new bees in the spring. It attempts to mimic thin nectar as best as possible, though the exact sugar concentration is not a primary concern for the bees.
And the other mixture is 2 parts sugar to 1 part water, which is a thick syrup used traditionally in the fall.
The answer is often, “It doesn’t matter”.
Making Sugar Syrup for Bees
Creating sugar syrup for bees is a straightforward process that requires careful attention to detail. The most common ratios used are 1:1 and 2:1, referring to the proportion of sugar to water.
For instance, a 1:1 syrup consists of one part sugar to one part water, ideal for spring feeding, while a 2:1 syrup, with two parts sugar to one part water, is typically used in the fall.
To make sugar syrup, combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and heat the mixture until the sugar dissolves completely. Allow the syrup to cool to room temperature before offering it to the bees.
It’s essential to use pure cane sugar or white sugar, as brown sugar or raw sugar can contain impurities that may harm the bees.
Read More on Sugar Syrup for Bees in our blog post.
Sugar Syrup Options and Considerations
Beekeepers have several options and considerations when it comes to sugar syrup. Many prefer a 1:1 syrup in the spring to stimulate comb building and brood rearing, while a 2:1 syrup is favored in the fall to help bees store food for winter.
Some beekeepers add lemon juice to the syrup to make it more nutritious and easier on the bees’ digestive systems. It’s also important to consider environmental factors like temperature and humidity, as bees prefer liquid sugar water over granulated sugar.
Ensuring the syrup is free from contaminants and impurities is crucial for the health of the bees.
QUICK MATH ON FEEDING BEES
2 cups water = 1 pound
1 pound of water = 2 cups
1 pound of white sugar = 2.25 cups
2 cups white sugar = .875 pounds or 14 oz or 396 grams
2 cups 1:1 / Thin sugar syrup = 1.1875 pounds or 19 oz or 538 grams
2 cups 2:1 / Thick sugar syrup = 1.3125 pounds or 21 oz or 595 grams
2 cups honey = 1.5 lbs or 24 oz or 680 grams
2 cups capped sugar water = 1.5 lbs or 24 oz or 680 grams
1 medium frame of honey = 85 square inches of honey (both sides)
1 deep frame of honey = 136 square inches of honey (both sides)
1 medium frame of honey = 3.45 pounds of honey on average (from 10 frames in a 10 frame box)
1 deep frame of honey = 5.5 pounds of honey on average (from 10 frames in a 10 frame box)
During winter, dry sugar can be used to feed bees by placing it properly within the hive to ensure they can access and dissolve it.
What Happens If I Feed My Thin Syrup In The Fall Or Winter?
When feeding syrup during the fall or winter, the goal is for the bees to store the syrup quickly so it can be stored before winter comes.
Feeding honey to bees during times when nectar is scarce is also crucial to prevent starvation, but it is important to monitor honey stores and avoid honey from unknown sources due to the risk of disease transmission, such as American foulbrood.
This syrup is for the com/blogs/feeding-bees/what-do-honey-bees-eat">bees to eat during the winter, not for them to build comb or to raise bees. So because the goal is for the colony to store the syrup and not to use it, you will want to give them thick syrup.
The thick syrup is more easily processed by the bees before they store it. At a time when you want the bees to process it quickly, you don’t want them working too hard.
And if you give them the thin syrup, they will have to work harder to process it.
What Happens If I Feed My Bees Thick Syrup Or 2:1 In The Spring
If you end up feeding thick sugar water to your bees during the spring or the summer, they will process it quickly and place it in their hive just as they would the 1:1 or thin syrup.
It is important to ensure hives are well-fed before a honey flow begins to avoid sugar contamination during this period. So if you feed thick on accident, it’s ok. Bees are going to store it quickly in their nest and could possibly backfill their nest with the syrup quickly.
When feeding bees thin syrup, they are supposed to feel like spring is in the air, and it will encourage them to build comb and raise bees. They will still do this with thick syrup, but possibly not as quickly.
The bottom line is that it isn’t a quick and straight answer, but at the very least, the bees will take it just fine. There are enough bees and warm weather in the spring that the bees will process the thick syrup quickly.
The same is not true of feeding bees thin syrup during the fall or winter, though.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
When making and feeding sugar syrup to bees, beekeepers should be mindful of several common mistakes. Using the wrong ratio of sugar to water can result in a syrup that is either too thin or too thick, making it less effective. Insufficient stirring can cause the sugar to crystallize, making it difficult for the bees to digest.
Using old or contaminated sugar can harm the bees and affect the quality of the honey. Additionally, over-feeding bees can lead to an over-reliance on sugar syrup, reducing their natural foraging behavior. Avoiding these mistakes ensures that the bees receive the best possible nutrition.
It does not matter whether you weigh the sugar and water or you measure the sugar and water. The reason is not that they are the same thing. Weighing vs. measuring does yield different amounts of water and sugar, but it doesn’t matter because it has the same result.
Bees turn the energy in sugar syrup into honeycomb either way. Using a proper syrup recipe is crucial to prevent honey contamination and ensure the health of your bee colonies.
If you are mixing together more than a gallon of syrup together at a time, a paint mixer like this makes mixing it together quick and easy. Trust us; it makes making sugar syrup almost enjoyable.
To help you figure out how to make sugar syrup and to understand what it costs you and how it affects your bees, we made this guide for you. This will help guide you to how much sugar and water it takes to make sugar syrup. And more importantly, how much it cost.
This chart was designed based on data from a hive scale and is a good guide for knowing how much feeding sugar syrup will help a colony of bees. There is some variation from hive to hive, but this should help you know how much to feed your bees. The current price of sugar will change significantly from when this graph was created.
Honey Contamination and Sugar Syrup
Honey contamination is a significant concern for beekeepers, and sugar syrup can play a role in preventing it. When bees are fed sugar syrup, they may store it in the honeycomb, potentially contaminating the honey.
To prevent this, beekeepers should ensure the sugar syrup is free from contaminants and impurities and avoid over-feeding the bees. Regularly extracting honey can also help prevent sugar syrup from being stored in the honeycomb.
By taking these precautions, beekeepers can minimize the risk of honey contamination and ensure their honey remains of high quality.
Best Practices for Feeding Bees
Feeding bees requires careful attention to their nutritional needs. Here are some best practices for feeding bees:
Use pure cane sugar or white sugar, as these are the most easily digestible for bees.
Ensure the sugar syrup is free from contaminants and impurities.
Use the correct ratio of sugar to water, depending on the time of year and the bees’ nutritional needs.
Feed the bees in the evening when they are less active and more likely to store the sugar syrup.
Avoid over-feeding the bees to prevent an over-reliance on sugar syrup and encourage natural foraging behavior.
Monitor the bees’ honey stores and adjust the feeding schedule accordingly.Consider adding lemon juice or other ingredients to the sugar syrup to make it more nutritious and easier on the bees’ digestive systems.
By following these best practices, beekeepers can ensure their bees are well-fed and healthy, and their honey remains of high quality.
Adam Hickman owns Foxhound Bee Company and is a certified EAS Master Beekeeper. Before ever selling a box through Foxhound Bee Company, Adam wrote beekeeping blogs for education. Adam regularly teaches beekeeping classes through Foxhound Bee Co and also through his local beekeeping club.
