Feeding: Syrup, Fondant and Pollen

Feeding bees means the beekeeper making up, inside the hive, the carbohydrate (syrup, fondant) or protein (pollen, pollen substitute) that a honey bee colony cannot obtain from nature. This page is a roadmap to help you decide which feed to give in which situation, when and how; the details of feeding syrup, fondant and pollen are explained on their own pages.

Is it necessary to feed bees?

Feeding is not a routine task but a management decision. In a good area, a strong colony left with enough honey in the hive can get through the winter in most years without being fed at all. On the other hand, dearth years, a late spring, over-harvesting, newly made splits and swarms do require feeding.

Before every feeding decision, the question to ask is the same: What does this colony really need? Energy (carbohydrate), protein to rear brood, or neither? The wrong feed can do as much harm as giving no feed at all.

Carbohydrate or protein? Two separate needs

• Carbohydrate (syrup, fondant): Supplies the energy needed for flight, warming the cluster, wax production and winter stores. Its natural equivalent is nectar and honey.
• Protein (pollen, pollen substitute): Needed for nurse bees to produce royal jelly and for larvae to develop. Its natural equivalent is flower pollen and the perga (bee bread) stored in the combs.

Syrup gives the colony energy but on its own does not increase the number of bees; protein is needed to rear new bees. Conversely, a colony with plenty of pollen but no honey left can still starve to death. Seeing first a band of pollen around the brood nest and then a band of honey outside it is the sign of a colony that is well balanced nutritionally.

Which feed should be given in which situation?

The table below is a general decision guide for the most common situations. The climate and vegetation of your area may shift the timing.

The differences between syrup, fondant and pollen

Syrup

Syrup (often simply called sugar water) is a liquid feed made by dissolving sugar in water. Bees take it in like nectar, evaporate its water and store it in the comb. That is why it only works when bees can fly, when daytime temperatures are above about 10–12 °C. Thin syrup (1 : 1) stimulates laying and comb building; heavy syrup (2 : 1) contains less water and is therefore quickly converted into winter stores. For details, see the Feeding Syrup page.

Fondant

Bee fondant (fondant, sugar candy, bee candy) is an almost water-free, solid sugar feed. The bees do not need to process and store it; the cluster eats it directly. That is why it is the main form of emergency winter feeding in cold weather, in the months when syrup cannot be processed. Fondant is no substitute for building up sufficient stores in autumn; it is a safety net. Details are on the Feeding Fondant page.

Pollen and pollen substitute

Natural pollen is the best source of protein. A pollen substitute (a protein feed made from ingredients such as soya flour and brewer's yeast) and a pollen supplement (a feed containing real pollen) only make sense when pollen is absent or insufficient in nature. Protein given early makes the colony rear brood early; this can be an advantage in spring, but it can also cause stores to run out quickly. Details are on the Feeding Pollen page.

How do you decide whether to feed?

The most reliable method is to measure rather than guess:

1. Weigh or heft the hive: Gently lifting the back of the hive (hefting) gives a rough idea of the stores. A beekeeper who regularly lifts the same hive throughout the year soon learns to tell a light hive from a heavy one. A hive scale gives a more precise result.
2. Count the honey frames: A full, capped Langstroth brood frame holds about 2–2.5 kg of honey. Count half-full frames as half.
3. Set the requirement according to climate: The amount of winter stores needed varies greatly by region. Mild coastal areas need less, while inland and eastern regions with long, harsh winters need markedly more. Find out the wintering rule of thumb used by experienced beekeepers in your area.
4. Look at the pollen situation: If there is no perga around the brood nest and nothing is flowering in nature, there is a need for protein.
5. Assess the colony's strength: Feeding a weak colony may not solve the problem; first investigate the cause of the weakness (disease, varroa, a queen problem).

Basic rules of feeding

• Give feed inside the hive, colony by colony. Putting open containers in the apiary (open feeding) starts robbing, carries diseases between hives and rewards the strongest colony.
• Feed in the late afternoon or evening. Syrup given after flight activity has died down reduces robbing excitement.
• Don't spill, and don't soil the hive front. Spilled syrup and bits of fondant attract robber bees and hornets.
• Reduce the entrance. Especially in weak colonies, the feeding period is the time of greatest robbing risk.
• Use only white sugar. Brown sugar, molasses, grape molasses and caramelised or burnt sugar can cause digestive problems and dysentery in bees.
• Do not feed honey of unknown origin. Honey from another apiary or from a shop can carry the spores of diseases such as American foulbrood.
• Keep feeders clean. Fermented and mouldy feed residues harm the bees.

The drawbacks of overfeeding and wrong feeding

• A shrinking brood nest: Excess syrup is stored in brood cells, and the queen finds no room to lay. In spring this also increases the swarming tendency.
• Syrup given late: Syrup given in cold weather cannot be processed, stays moist in the hive, can ferment and stresses the bees.
• Early protein: Brood reared before forage becomes available in nature can cause stores to run out quickly.
• Unnecessary cost: Feeding while there is forage is a waste of both money and labour.

Feeding calendar (general)

Dates can shift by weeks from region to region; the sequence below shows the general logic:

1. Late winter: Check stores (heft the hive); fondant if necessary.
2. Early spring: Pollen patty if there is no natural pollen; fondant if stores are low, or syrup once the weather warms up.
3. Before the flow: Stimulative feeding with thin syrup if necessary; finished before the supers go on.
4. Summer: No feeding while the supers are on; check stores after the harvest.
5. Autumn: Any shortfall in winter stores is made up with heavy syrup before the weather turns cold; varroa control is also planned for this period.