Replenishment of fodder stocks and top-dressing of bees
Since in the early spring for bees the food and heat in the nest are the most important, then all families that have little or no honey should be given enough feed to have 6-7 kg of stocks in the hive and in no case less than 4 kg.
Only with sufficient supplies of food in the hives and the necessary warmth, the families develop well and will soon come into force. This must always be remembered, especially where there is no good early bribe. If in nature there is a good early bribe and the weather contributes to the summer of bees, and if the amount of honey in the hives increases, then the bees do not need to be fed, except for certain weak families and nucleuses.
In spring, feeding to bee families is given to replenish their fodder reserves, as well as to strengthen egg laying by the uterus and brood rearing. In this case, feeding should be given so that the nest is not cooled.
Bees can be fed with carbohydrate feeds – honey and sugar, but sometimes they are given protein and vitamin supplementation, prepared with honey or sugar.
From the sugar can be prepared different foods: sugar syrup, sugar candy and fodder mass (candy), which is a mixture of finely powdered sugar with honey. In the spring time, sugar is usually fed in the form of sugar syrup.
Feeding honey. The best and natural food to which the organism of bees is adapted is honey. Cellular honey, as fully mature, not containing excess water, is considered the best. Honey combs are preheated in a warm room and such frames are inserted into the nest.
If there is a dense sugared centrifugal or drain honey, then it must first be diluted. To do this, mix honey with a small amount of water and heat up no higher than 55-60 њ. When honey, cooling down, will become warm, like fresh milk, it is given to bees for the night.
Depending on the purpose for which feeding is given, honey is prepared in
Feed the bees need benign honey obtained from healthy bee colonies of their apiaries. It should be remembered that in a time-free period, the smell of honey can attract bee-thieves, so it’s better to give sugar syrup in the spring.
You should never buy honey on the side for feeding bees, since it can be obtained from apiaries infected with nosematosis or foulbrood.
Honey from foulbrood families can not be fed to bees under any circumstances.
Addition of sugar. For feeding bees you need pure white granulated sugar or refined sugar. Yellow sugar is not suitable for creating winter stocks in hives, but in the spring it can be used for feeding.
The following additional fertilizing is prepared from sugar.
Sugar syrup is one of the most popular top dressings; it is prepared in different densities, depending on the purpose for which this feeding is given to the bees. To prepare a thick sugar syrup, 2 parts of sugar is taken for one part of the water. A medium density syrup is prepared from equal parts of sugar and water. For liquid syrup, take 1 part of sugar in 2 parts of water.
Dense sugar syrup is used for top-dressing in the early spring or autumn, liquid for strengthening egg laying by the uterus and brood rearing by bees; medium Sugar is given in the summer if there is no bribe in nature.
In the early spring, until the warm weather finally sets in and there are plenty of flowers, do not feed the bees with liquid food (liquid sugar syrup or honey sated), and do not give food in small portions. The fact is that every day giving feed we create conditions for bees like bribes. Meanwhile, every bribe encourages the bees to increase their flight and search for prey. Therefore, bees with such additional fertilization will fly out and die from the cold.
In the springtime, it is best to feed the bees with a thick sugar syrup or honey. However, families, in which owing to the large number of broods have an increased need for water, it is useful to give sugar syrup of medium density. Such feeding will simultaneously provide bee colonies and water, which is very important, especially during cold snap.
Feeding should be given at once more, 1,5-2 kg, so that often bees do not disturb.
Method of syrup preparation. Sugar syrup, as well as other kinds of top dressing, must be cooked on low heat and certainly in clean dishes, for example, in enameled or aluminum boilers or pots, so that the feeding does not take an unpleasant smell.
Water is immediately brought to a boil, and then sugar is put in it. While sugar dissolves, it must be stirred frequently, so that it does not burn.
The syrup should be brought only to a boil and, immediately taking off, cool to warmth of fresh milk, then give bees. Bees are reluctant to take cold syrup, so feeders should be sheltered.
Sometimes bees are fed with sugar in a mixture with honey, for which one part of honey, 2 parts of sugar and 1 part of water are taken. The mixture is heated, but not brought to a boil, in which honey loses its valuable qualities.
Solid foods made from sugar, for example, sugar candy and candy, are used only in rare cases when feeding during wintering (if there is a shortage of food in the hives, if the bees winter in excessively wet winter huts). In spring, solid feed is almost not used.
The beekeeper during the spring feeding of bees successfully used potato treacle , to which before feeding was added 1 / 3-1 / 4 part of honey and a little warm water. Due to the abundant and timely feeding of bees with such food, in combination with other activities, it reached very high rates – 136 kg of honey and 2.5 kg of gross wax for each of the 5 wintering bee colonies, and increased the apiary 8 times in one year (from 5 families up to 40).
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