Why would one colony not consume fondant?

[litefoot]

Three of four colonies are working through the fondant I placed a couple of weeks ago. What am I to make of the one colony that is ignoring the fondant? It seems to be the lightest (in terms of stores) of the four, but the cluster size looks good and it usually has the most bees flying around on the warmer (upper 40's) days. The weather is a cruel mistress at the moment with temperatures that might otherwise allow a bit more inspection if it weren't for the chilly wind.

[Jen]

I sure don't know! It baffles me why they don't eat their own honey! I've been feeding my own winter patties and their gobbling it up within a week.

I do wonder if bees aren't feeling good enough to eat period! Like maybe they're full of mite holes? maybe nosema...?

Has it been warm enough for you to get into the hive? Or even pop the lid for a couple of minutes and look at the underside of the lid? and the top of the frames...   crossing fingers for ya

[Riverrat]

The bees wont take the fondant unless they think they need it. Or maybe just a picky hive that prefers the gourmet over regular fondant Another idea the temps inside the hive may be cooler than the other 3.

[barry42001]

right now I'm feeding my light syrup, but I understand weather conditions down here in Florida are the different than where you are. with that said we're experiencing a bit of a nightly cold snap with temperatures dipping down in the mid or  lower 40's. still because they are nucs they readily take syrup

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[Perry]

Some do, and some don't. Either way you're not hurting anything by having it there. If they need it they will use it. If not, in the spring just add water and make syrup out of it.

[tbonekel]

Yep, I put dry sugar on 4 hives this winter. 3 hardly touched it. The fourth ate it all and a lot of the paper it was on. And I really don't think they were hurting that much in the way of stores. Beats me.

[riverbee]

litefoot what riverrat said......and they will take it when they need it. 

[tecumseh]

another view and this snip 'it usually has the most bees flying around on the warmer (upper 40's) days' would suggest to me nosema.  if you read thru some of Randy Olivers stuff you may see he has made similar comments concerning the non consumption of pollen patties.  one side effect of nosema is bees tend to fly at sub optimal temperatures.

[apisbees]

Consumption is also tied to brood production and bees will use nectar or feed that the bees are in the process of ripening and storing rather than uncap ripened honey to feed the new larva. Could be a queen slow to start egg laying or queen loss or failure. Has it been warm enough to check for brood.

[litefoot]

another view and this snip 'it usually has the most bees flying around on the warmer (upper 40's) days' would suggest to me nosema.  if you read thru some of Randy Olivers stuff you may see he has made similar comments concerning the non consumption of pollen patties.  one side effect of nosema is bees tend to fly at sub optimal temperatures.

No sign of streaking on the boxes, so I'm hoping the nosema thing is out of the picture.

[litefoot]

Consumption is also tied to brood production and bees will use nectar or feed that the bees are in the process of ripening and storing rather than uncap ripened honey to feed the new larva. Could be a queen slow to start egg laying or queen loss or failure. Has it been warm enough to check for brood.

I'm looking at temps in the upper 50's this weekend, so I hope to be able to take a gander then. Good thoughts, though, Apis. When are you and Tec and Iddee going to publish your own beekeeping books. Every time you guys write something on the forum, I want to print it out and paste it in my knowledge nuggets notebook.

[tecumseh]

a litefoot snip...
No sign of streaking on the boxes

tecumseh...
to correct a misconception streaking was not always a sign when nosema a. was prevalent and it is rarely evident with the newer and much more likely nosema c.  If I had some fumidillian I would likely add a very small quantity of this to powdered sugar and dust the top of the fondant patty and then step back and see if you see any difference (say 5 days to a week later).  Some studies have suggested any number of appetite enhancement product may provide the same benefit as fumidillian.... not really proven mind you. 

[lazy shooter]

I am a mentally challenged, novice beekeeper, but there is one thing that I have learned.  It's that each hive has its own personality.  In one of my apiaries, I have two hives that are three feet apart and their queens came from the same supplier.  One hive loves patties, and the other hive does not pay attention to them.  One hive flies in much colder temps and in greater numbers, and one hive is nice tempered and the other hive has the demeanor of an enraged communist. 

Some bees are not drawn to fondant and patties as much as others.  I realize that some of this may be due to the needs of each hive, but I also think bee hives have differing personalities just as do individual people.