Worldwide Beekeeping
Beekeeping => General Beekeeping => Topic started by: Jen on February 04, 2014, 12:07:14 pm
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According to my teachings yesterday on this forum.. Looks like I'm feeding my fury family early.
I have winter patties on now. Should I use sugar syrup in addition? And at what percentage? 50/50?
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50/50 is to get them to raise brood.
100/50 is to get them to store food for future use.
You decide.
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remember once you start feeding you will most likely have to feed until you have a bloom on or they will starve
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Minnie- I know, it feels early to me, but my bees have broken cluster and have been flying for two weeks now. So Crazy!
I put in a winter pattie two weeks ago and it's gone, paper and all.
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Iddee ""50/50 is to get them to raise brood.
100/50 is to get them to store food for future use.""
What the heck is 100/50?
I don't have one single cookbook that requires a 100/50 measurement!
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Most beeks say 1/1, or 2 /1, so since you said 50/50, which is 1/1, I simply said 100/50, which is 2/1.
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Iddee- Thank you kind sir
So the measurement in a quart jar will be 2/3 sugar to 1/3 water, microwave for a minute or two until sugar is dissolved. And this measurement would be to help the bees put a way food for later.
Then, to get them to raise brood, make a 50/50 solution. Fill the quart jar half way with sugar, then fill the rest of the jar with water. Microwave for a minute or two until the sugar is dissolved.
Let cool before putting onto the hive.
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NO. The ratio is sugar to water. 2/3 sugar and 1/3 water is 2/1. I never microwave, so I can't help you there. 1/1 will dissolve with hot tap water. 2/1 I bring the water to a boil, turn heat off, then add sugar and stir.
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Okay, I'll correct my post then. Thanks!
Correct measurement Done!
UPDATE Today Feb 4 Tues: Winter pattie and sugar water on the hive, the bees can take their pick. put the warm sugar water on the opening of my handy dandy inner cover, then an additional super and then the lid. Checked the sticky board, Not A Mite In Sight! Oxalic Acid ROCKS!
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NO. The ratio is sugar to water. 2/3 sugar and 1/3 water is 2/1. I never microwave, so I can't help you there. 1/1 will dissolve with hot tap water. 2/1 I bring the water to a boil, turn heat off, then add sugar and stir.
Well said Iddee!
IF, you boil the water after sugar is added it will crystalize.. and make a mjess of whatever your feeding in. Fortunately, the bees will slowly clean it out if you remove the lid :P
I do exactly as Iddee said. heat it until it starts to lightly boil, shut off the heat and begin adding sugar. Stir until it clears. When you add the sugar the water will get cloudy. keep stirring until its very clear again.
Sugar and water measure the same. 2/1 is two cups of sugar to one cup of water.
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Thanks Lazy and Iddee. What I do is put the sugar and water into the quart jar and micro for 1 1/2 minutes, stir while heating. It is not near boiling when it comes out of the micro. I did feed sugar syrup a couple of years ago. So far so good. But I like your ideas as well. I'll see how this jar of syrup behaves. Will prob switch. Microwaving is kind of creepy anyway.
Oh! and I also use filtered water for my bee food. We're on city water... yuk
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Bees get water from chlorinated swimming pools, hollow trees, drainage ditches, fresh cow patties. They have their own filtering system.
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I knoooow! I just feel like I'm doing the right thing ;) 8)
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LOL! Thats what its all about! ;D
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;D
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hi jen I just boil kettle then pour I on top of sugar and stir till it dissolve don't take long
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Denise- I like the kettle idea too, then I don't have to drag out pots and pans.
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If you do 2/3 jar sugar and 1/2 jar water, you end up with a bit less than 3/4 of the jar full of solution. So if you put in 2/3 jar sugar and pour in water till the jar is full, you are in fact making something closer to 1 to 1.
For making 2 to 1 I fill the jar almost to the top with sugar and then pour in water from the kettle until it's full.
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Rain and snow the next three days. 40 degree out. So I went out to my hive to take a quick peekand see if they have any winter pattie left. Bee are not in a cluster by any means.
At what temperature do bees go into a cluster?
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Iddee stated that bees went into a cluster below 53 degrees F. I don't know what temp causes them to cluster. Take a heat gun or thermometer and check the heat on the inside of the hive.
I have seen some of my bees (some of them) flying when the temperature was in the low 40's. I'm going to buy me a heat gun and a quick temperature thermometer.
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"At what temperature do bees go into a cluster?"
at about 57 degrees f bees begin to form a cluster.
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No, Lazy, I said they begin to cluster at 55 degrees. They are at full cluster at 43 degrees. That is the temp inside the hive away from the cluster. That is not the temp where the sun is hitting the front of the hive and it is not 10 feet away from the hive. The temp can change in a matter of feet.
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Hiya riv- it was about 40 today, and we have predicted snow for a couple of days. So I took a quick peek to see if there was some winter pattie left, there is. However the bees are very active inside the hive, and even came out of the inner cover entrance a bit. Crazy Beez!
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Hiya riv- it was about 40 today, and we have predicted snow for a couple of days. So I took a quick peek to see if there was some winter pattie left, there is. However the bees are very active inside the hive, and even came out of the inner cover entrance a bit. Crazy Beez!
I bet if you went back in about an hour after opening the hive and took a look they would have been in a cluster ;)