Any beekeeper knows that you need to take care of bees all year round. In order for the toilers to be ready for active work in the spring, in winter they need to be especially looked after, and top dressing should be quite effective. Feeding is of particular relevance in February, when preparations are underway for the time to collect nectar. How to organize this process and how to feed the bees will be described later.
Did you know? Bees have poor eyesight: they are not able to distinguish objects at a distance of more than 1.5 m. However, nature has endowed them with a wonderful sense of smell.
How to prepare bees for winter?
When the summer season has come to an end, bees fly less on the outside and spend more time in the hives. During this period, the family should be audited. To do this, calculate the age of the uterus and the number of brood. According to such data, it is determined whether additional steps are needed to prepare the family for wintering. If the apiary has evidence with different strength families.
That should take care of additional feeding of such insects, because natural reserves go to weaker individuals. The timing and methods of preparing additional nutrition depend on the presence of possible diseases. If some ailments are found before hibernation, the hives are treated with special preparations. This event is necessary to restore health and allows insects to get stronger.
Rules and features of feeding bees
In winter, bees experience 2 stages of development. The initial phase of the period is characterized by complete sexual calm and peace in Omshanik. The family practically does not move and does not consume food - it accumulates strength for the next phase. With the advent of brood, the situation changes dramatically.
Did you know? To get only 100 g of honey, a bee will have to fly around a million flowers.
Bees begin to show activity aimed at:
- maintaining optimal temperature;
- brood feeding;
- humidity control.
It is in the second phase that a lot of energy is expended, which should be restored by enhanced nutrition, so feeding bees with honey in cold weather is simply necessary - it helps to get a good brood for the family.
In this case, you should adhere to such recommendations:
- Proper nutrition. You need to choose a food that will not stimulate the activity of bees and give them diarrhea.
- Caution. Top dressing is carried out in such a way as not to disturb the peace of the family and to prevent their departure.
- The correct consistency. It is better to use saturated feed.
What food is better to use in the winter
Winter top dressing should contain carbohydrate elements. During this period, bees do not grow brood. Their main task in the winter is to support the life of all members.
Important! The bee should not crawl into the holes in the bag, as it can drown in the feed.
Full honey frame
In order not to interfere in the life of the family, use this method. In preparation for the winter, after the last inspection on the frames of the nest, a full-frame frame is placed on the wooden blocks, and the nest is covered. So the bee club will have in stock an additional 1.5–2 kg of honey. The frame can be put in the middle of winter, but it is pre-warmed at room temperature.
Sugar syrup
The easiest option that can be used in January and late winter. For the preparation of syrup take the following components:
- sugar - 1.5 kg;
- water - 1 l.
Important! The readiness of the composition - the molded lump should not be blurred.
There are several ways to give such dressing:
- Using conventional feeders. If the bee dwelling is well insulated, then the family takes food perfectly.
- Half liter jar. Gauze is wound around the neck (4-5 layers), the jar is turned over and placed directly on the ventilation grill or on the frame. Bees love this kind of top dressing more warmly.
- Plastic bag. Fill the bags with sugar syrup, tie them, make small (about 3 mm) holes and lay them on the frames.
The concentration and composition of the sugar fluid can be changed. For example, sick bees are given a syrup with a concentration of 1: 1 and drugs are added to it. Weakened families are given a thick bait, and its concentration is 1: 2.
Kandy
In December and late winter, bees can be fed kandy. This type of winter top dressing has its advantages, because it does not prompt insects to make early flights in cold weather.
To prepare dressing, take the following elements:
- liquid heated honey - 1.9–2 kg;
- powdered sugar - 8 kg;
- salt - 1 g;
- pollen of flowers - no more than 10%.
The crushed sugar is poured onto a clean surface, a depression is made in the heap and honey is poured there. Then the components are thoroughly mixed (first with a wooden spoon, and then with your hands) to get the consistency of the dough. Cakes are prepared from the resulting mixture, which are wrapped in a film. Next, make holes. Kandy in packages are laid out on the planks of the frames and insulated.
Honey is full
In fact, this feed is honey diluted with water. The concentration of fertilizing can be different. In the spring you should not give a lot of liquid, so the mixture will have more honey and less water. Most often, honey sytu is used to ensure that the queen lays a maximum of eggs, so feeding is also called stimulating. It is better to give it closer to spring. Feeding is simple, and there are many recipes for its preparation. At the same time, you can add additional ingredients as well as limit yourself to the main components.
Did you know? Bees not only know how to collect honey: they are the creators of the most perfect figure in the world of wildlife - a hexagonal cell.
Additionally, you can add:
- pieces of bacon;
- dried insects;
- herbs and spices.
Sugar candy
If the bees do not have enough main food, you can prepare the following tasty top dressing for them. To do this, you will need:
- sugar - 5 kg;
- water - 1 l;
- citric (tartaric) acid - 10 g.
Important! Overfeeding bees is not recommended, because early uterine worming can occur, which is highly undesirable.
Water is poured into enameled dishes, sugar, acid are poured and brought to a boil. The mixture, stirring occasionally, is boiled for 30 minutes. The readiness of the candy is determined by the consistency of the syrup: the mixture stops dripping and begins to stretch with thin threads. Caramel is removed from the fire and poured immediately into the frame. To do this, the removed frames are placed on a plane, on moistened paper, and the mixture is poured. After the candy hardens, the paper is removed. Frames with caramel are placed near the sealed accommodation of the family instead of the extreme frames. You can lay the candy directly on the frame, above the club, and cover it with a heater on top.
Video: sugar bees
When is it necessary to give top dressing?
To the question of whether it is necessary to feed the bees in the winter, experienced beekeepers give only an affirmative answer. The only thing you should pay attention to is the optimal period. Despite the fact that some advise you not to touch the bee family until spring, others are sure that insects simply will not survive until this time of year.
The most important guideline in this is how much honey remains until spring. And here you need to know how to correctly calculate the volume. For a family, honey consumption per month is about one kilogram. If this volume is in the hive, then you can wait. If the supply is insufficient, then the family definitely needs to be fed. It should also be fed if the collected honey has started to crystallize or contains paddy.
Then stocks cannot be evaluated as a complete feed. But in this case, bees should not be fed. As you can see, there are many options for feeding bees in the cold. And which way to choose depends on the conditions and characteristics of keeping winged toilers: the main thing is that the feeding procedure is extremely effective.
