Feeding Honey Bees In Colorado

Fact Sheet 5.622 Insect Series | Home & Garden By Arathi Seshadri, Catherine Mills & Kurt Jones* Quick Facts

Healthy bees, like all living organisms, warm during cold winter days. Honey bees Dietary needs of bees are require a regular supply of food and water. do not hibernate but instead form a tight complex because they While they are known for their love of nectar cluster where the bees vibrate their wing need nectar and pollen and pollen from flowers, the dietary needs muscles and shiver to generate warmth on from a variety of different of bees are much more complex because the coldest of winter days. This requires a lot plants. they need nectar and pollen from a variety of carbohydrates and therefore it is important of different plants. Nectar from flowers and for the colony to have adequate stored Pollen and nectar are honey and access to sugar solution to make stored honey provide the carbohydrates for the source of protein it through the cold winters in Colorado. honey bees. Pollen provides the protein, and carbohydrates for lipids, vitamins and mineral components of the developing brood the honey bee diet. Water is provided to the Seasonal Differences in Feeding colony through metabolism of nectar and Honey bee colonies are active and in the hive. Nutritional honey, and through collection by foragers. growing in the spring and summer seasons. requirements for a honey Fresh water should be provided whenever In the winter season, the colonies do not bee colony changes foraging bees are observed outside the hive. produce new adult bees but remain active. depending on the season.

Honey bee colonies are active and growing in the spring and summer seasons. In the winter season, the colonies do not produce new adult bees but the existing adult bees continue to remain active.

Honey bees rely on floral diversity to maintain a Pollen and nectar are the source of protein So, the nutritional requirements vary between healthy immune system. and carbohydrates for the developing brood seasons. It is important to understand the in the hive. Nutritional requirements for a different feeding requirements associated honey bee colony changes depending on with each season to sustain healthy colonies. the season. During the spring and summer Colonies must have sufficient (80 – 100 seasons when the colony is actively growing, pounds) stored honey going into the winter. honey bees require a mixture of pollen and In addition to this stored honey, feeding nectar. Pollen is the protein source necessary colonies during the winter months is common to maintain healthy larval development. practice. Supplementing colonies with Availability of pollen ensures that honey bee sugar solution (2 sugar: 1 water) in the early foragers progress normally through the age- months of fall will give the bees enough time based division of labor from young nurses to to ferment the syrup and turn it into honey middle-aged builders to old foragers. Lack of reserves for the winter. In Colorado this is access to sufficient pollen breaks down the very important because the winters tend to * Arathi Seshadri (Arathi H.S.), normal age-based task transitions, leading to be harsh. Forcing bees to delegate some of CSU, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Catherine Mills, CSU, colony failure. Prolonged pollen limitation can their energy to search for nectar instead of Department of Fish and Wildlife, and cause queens to stop egg laying. clustering decreases the hive’s chances of Kurt Jones CSU Extension, Chaffee During the fall and winter months, the survival, as there are no flowers in the winter County. colony is not actively growing but the bees months. need to generate enough heat to keep 1 © Colorado State University Extension. 07/19. extension.colostate.edu In spring, supplemental feeding is This will help the beekeeper determine the bee to maintain traction while feeding. seen as a measure to get the bees periods when there is nothing in bloom Fatal drowning of the bees is still a risk “back on their feet” to start foraging and supplement the hive with sugar and with this method of feeding. and get the colony growing. Colonies pollen. Sugar supplementation can be begin to consume more of their honey done as sugar syrup, dry food, fondant or stores. Supplemental feeding in March soft candy. is important as they begin to build their brood. After a long winter of buzzing Beekeepers use sugar syrups to around the queen to keep warm, the supplement the hive. The syrup is made workers and newly-emerged drones can by adding granulated sugar to lukewarm quickly exhaust available inhive honey water, in a ratio dependent on the season, reserves. Beekeepers can feed colonies and shake vigorously to dissolve. Do with sugar solution (1 sugar: 1 water). Note not boil the water to dissolve the sugar. the change in proportion of sugar to Do not use brown sugar, molasses or water from winter to spring feeding. raw sugar in syrup for honey bees. Hive top feeder There are several research findings that Spring feeding stimulates the foraging demonstrate that corn syrup is not a process and gives the bees enough healthy option for bees. Division Board Feeder energy to forage for naturally available This feeder is located within the hive pollen and nectar from flowers. Bees Syrup Feeders and is a frame-sized box with rigid edges collect pollen from early blooming Types of syrup feeders include plastic containing syrup. They come with a spring plants including crocus, hyacinth feeder pails, hive top feeders, division floating strip for bees to perch on while etc. Bees can also be seen collecting board feeders, empty drawn comb, plastic drinking the syrup. This feeder is highly pollen from sugar maple, ash and other bag feeders, and Boardman feeders. prone to bee fatality as bees often drown early blooming, wind-pollinated trees. from losing traction on the edges. The Dandelions are one of the early blooming Plastic Pail Feeder feeder location is fixed and sometimes spring flowers that is a bone of contention Consists of a plastic or glass bucket bees may starve in the winter due to the among gardeners and beekeepers. Bees with holes in the upper outer lip that feeder’s location in relation to the cluster. prefer other flowers over dandelions delivers a pool of sugar syrup when but will forage from dandelions in the turned upside down. This device can absence of better food sources (Larson et be placed inside or outside of the hive al., 2014). Provide alternate early flowering allowing the bees to perch on the plants (Factsheet 5.616) or supplement lip and feed from the pool. Placing it pollen to the hive to reduce bee inside the hive is a good option for both activity on dandelions in regions when summer and winter feeding. One of the dandelions are actively being controlled disadvantages of this kind of feeder is that by herbicide application. it increases the risk of drowning of bees when sugar flows down and accumulates During spring, with longer days and the at the base of the hive. Locating it outside warming temperatures, bees can be seen of the hive reduces such risk but may Division board feeder collecting water from any nearby sources cause robbing from other colonies or including creeks, pools and bird baths. animals nearby. Boardman Feeder Provide water near the hives to reduce This feeder is external to the hive and their time spent searching for water uses a small plastic or wooden insert that (Factsheet 5.615). holds an inverted mason jar with sugar syrup. The jar is fixed with a perforated Sugar Feeds metal top that the bees can feed from. Sugar is an integral part of the Although it may provide the easiest nutritional health of every honey bee access without disturbing the hive, the colony. In order to ensure that the colony Boardman feeder is still predisposed is well fed, beekeepers need to evaluate to a series of issues that may affect the the health of the hive regularly (once Plastic pail feeder with lid wellbeing of the hive. Problems may a month) and ensure the presence of arise from exposure to light, incidence enough stored honey or nectar. A hive of diseases as well as freezing in the suffering from lack of sugar may exhibit a Hive Top Feeder winter months, inducing starvation on a smaller and weaker population of bees. This consists of a plastic super placed dependent hive. This hive feeding method Such hives are generally found in areas on top of the hive that allows bees to is suggested because it reduces robbing with little or no flowering plants. It is climb into and feed from the syrup inside. by neighboring hives, and with proper important for every beekeeper to keep a This feeder is equipped with a metal management, can be the best method for seasonal record of what is blooming near frame or jagged plastic edges that allow honey supplementing. the hive and the apiary from spring to fall. 2 Boardman feeder (photo by Arathi Seshadri) life span and reduces their longevity as adults. Bee larvae reared under pollen shortage grow up to be poor communicators as adults often making errors in the dance language describing the location of the flower patch (Scofield and Mattila 2015). Pollen is also an important ingredient in bee bread. Bee bread is composed of fermented pollen which the bees use throughout their active and inactive seasons. When storing (A) Feeder located at the hive entrance (B) Closeup of feeder the reserves, bees will coat the bread with invert sugar, can be created by mixing a fine layer of wax and honey. It, along Plastic Bag Feeders two cups of sugar, two tablespoons of with honey, is vital to the sustainability of These are the least expensive corn syrup, and 1½ cups of boiling water. a hive over the harsh winter seasons. To alternatives to the use of an empty drawn After combining and cooling, the fondant ensure that bee bread is present in the comb. They require a gallon sized Ziploc mixture is solidified by vigorously stirring hive, beekeepers introduce pollen patties bag filled 2/3rd with syrup. Carefully the mixture until a soft clay-like ball is or other pollen substitutes in surplus for squeeze out most of the air and zip the formed. This can be placed into a hive colonies to feed on. Pollen patties are a bag closed. Carefully place the bag on the like a pollen patty, on top of the frames good pollen substitute often containing frames within the super. Make shallow ‘X’ or at the bottom of a super. The fondant pollen and clean honey that is worked slit after placing the bag on the frame. The reduces robbing from neighboring hives into a disc and then heated to combine. syrup will not flow out, but the bees will or wasps within the area and is a good Though honey bees prefer fresh pollen, immediately gather up at the slit. Do not source of sugar when water resources are protein substitutes and supplements can cut too deep as you may slit the bottom high. Preparation of fondant uses a small provide nutrients during periods of pollen as well. amount of corn syrup. dearth.

Empty Drawn Comb Pollen Additional nutritional Using empty drawn combs to feed a Pollen is another essential ingredient compounds: hive may be the least invasive feeding for the health of a hive. Worker bees In addition, the pollen and nectar method. This method requires an empty obtain it through foraging on flowers. also provide small amounts of other frame that may be submerged in a syrup Pollen accumulates on the body hairs chemical compounds, collectively solution and placed into the hive. It should and legs of the bees. Bees stop during known as “phytochemicals” or plant only be used in cases of emergency when a foraging trip, groom all the pollen off secondary metabolites. “Phytochemicals” other feeding options are not available their body and stuff the grains into pollen are chemical compounds produced because it has an increased risk of brood baskets or corbiculae on their hind legs. by plants mainly to defend themselves diseases, as combs retain spores and They return to flowers and continue the from pathogens and pests. Bees have other infectious agents. It is important process. Once the pollen baskets are full, a longstanding mutualism with plants to ensure that empty drawn combs are worker bees return to the hive, where and the relationship has evolved over obtained from a healthy colony. they are unloaded, and the unloader bee evolutionary time scale. This relationship stores the pollen pellet in cells as food has resulted in bees benefiting from some Dry Sugar reserves to use as feed for developing of the plant defense compounds which In places where there is an abundance larvae. extend their lifespan and promote disease of freshwater available to the colony, Pollen from flowers is the primary dry sugar may be an alternative sugar solution supplementation. Unaltered dry granulated cane sugar (no heating or adding water) can be introduced through the bottom of the hive box or the top. When using this method, the placement of the sugar is key. Ways to reduce the chance of robbing or contamination include placing it furthest away from the entrance on the back-wall base or near Pollen grains on the hairs of Pollen basket (corbicular) on Honey bee with pollen baskets the oblong hole located on top of the the honey bee (photo by Bruce the hind leg of a honey bee. filled with pollen. (photo by Leander) (photo by Lisa Mason) Lisa Mason) inner cover. source of protein for developing larvae tolerance (Bernklau et al. 2019). Access to and can be detrimental to a colony when these phytochemicals is dependent on a Fondant there is a shortage. Pollen shortage This sugar supplement also known as diverse array of flowering plants. Lack of results in bees foraging earlier in the certain phytochemicals due to a decline in 3 plant diversity in the habitat can result in honey bee colonies becoming susceptible to pests and diseases.

Quick Guide to honey bee feeding for Colorado Season Sugar Pollen Water

Spring Yes Yes Yes (March – May) Stimulate colony growth. Pollen patties to stimulate Fountains, bird baths, water 1 sugar : 1 water foraging dishes etc.

Summer Yes Yes Yes (June – Aug) Feed as needed Feed often to maintain Bees need water to cool hives. 1 sugar : 1 water healthy and strong colonies Fountains, bird baths, water dish etc. Fall Yes Yes for part of the time (Sep – Oct) Prepare colonies for winter Pollen patties in September Optional 1 sugar : 1 water to raise winter bees. Withdraw patties in October Winter Yes (Nov – Feb) Feed thicker syrup No No 2 sugar : 1 water Colorado beekeeping Honey bees rely on floral diversity to maintain a healthy immune system. It is References necessary for beekeepers in Colorado • Bernklau, E., Bjostad, L., Hogeboom, to feed supplements to their hives as A., Carlisle, A., Arathi, H.S., 2019. Colorado landscapes are not always Dietary Phytochemicals, Honey Bee able to meet the dietary needs of Longevity and Pathogen Tolerance. honey bees. In Colorado there are large Insects 10, 14. agricultural communities that focus on a • Larson, J.L., Kesheimer, A.J., Potter, single crop or series of crops, with little D.A., 2014. Pollinator assemblages on to no diverse bee forage. In addition, dandelions and white clover in urban increased urbanization has reduced and suburban lawns. Journal of Insect natural habitats requiring honey bee hives Conservation 18, 863-873. to become more and more dependent on • Scofield, H.N., Mattila, H.R., 2015. the beekeeper to provide a continuous Honey bee workers that are pollen source of nutrition. If beekeeping is your stressed as larvae become poor hobby, make sure your bee pets have foragers and waggle dancers as access to good nutrition in order to adults. PLoS ONE 10, e0121731. remain healthy. Image sources Some good flowers that can provide Betterbee, Greenwich NY unless nutritious diet are listed in the following otherwise indicated fact sheets • Creating Pollinator Habitat (5.616) • Attracting Native Bees to Your Landscape (5.615)

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