=Feeding=
IN an erratic climate, such as that of Great Britain, bee-keeping
includes among its duties that of bee-feeding at certain periods of
the year, if profit is to accrue. It must be remembered that shortage
of food when the bees are active means an inroad on their stores and a
suspension of brood-rearing operations.
This applies most particularly to early spring when successful
brood-rearing is absolutely necessary to ensure a profitable issue
to the bee-keeper. If, therefore, there is a shortage of food then,
the hive will be thrown backward to such an extent that the bees will
have no time to gather surplus stores for the bee-keeper's benefit.
All their strength will go to supply the necessities of brood-rearing.
The honey-flow over, with their store so small that it serves their
needs but a short time--for much food is consumed in summer--the bees
then begin the pernicious system of robbing other hives, and thereby
causing further trouble.
=Spring Feeding.=--Spring feeding, therefore, may be looked upon as
a necessity for the bee-keeper out for profit. It is then that the
neglected hive so often succumbs after the community has existed safely
through the winter.
I consider that outside feeding is by far the better method in the
spring. For one reason it is always risky to disturb the bees by
inside feeding early in the year, and there is always the certainty of
admitting a draught of cold air to the hive. Another reason in favour
of outside feeding is that it induces the bees to take exercise, which
is decidedly good for them after the winter seclusion, and also keeps
the young bees from wandering in search of food, and thereby running
the risk of getting lost.
The food should be placed on a shelf at a good height from the ground,
and in a warm situation, well sheltered from cold winds. Protection,
too, is necessary for the food; a garden light reared against the house
wall answers the purpose admirably. The sun's rays passing through the
glass will warm the food and make it more acceptable to the bees. Old
honey in the combs is of course the ideal food for bees, but where this
is not available artificial food must be resorted to.
_Syrup Food._--All artificial syrup food should be made from pure
refined cane sugar, which supplies the bees with a substitute as
near to the natural food as is possible. Syrup for spring feeding or
stimulating should be made as follows:
Cane sugar 10 lb.
Water (clean spring water preferably) 7 pints
Table Salt 1 oz.
Vinegar 1 tablespoonful
This mixture must be boiled in a clean enamel saucepan and all scum
that rises to the surface carefully removed. Some bee-keepers add a
pinch of borax, or some naphtha beta, or other chemicals as preventives
against disease, but unless disease be actually rife in the district
these additions are totally unnecessary, especially in the spring of
the year. Moreover they are liable to spoil the flavour of any surplus
honey subsequently gathered by the bees.
It is only necessary to give each hive about one pint of syrup per
week, when spring feeding is commenced, but after a few weeks the
amount must be gradually increased. The worker bee generally leaves the
cell about 21 days after the egg has been deposited by the queen, and
as the young bee cannot leave the hive until she is a fortnight old,
an increased amount of food is required after each batch of brood is
hatched.
_Artificial Pollen Food._--Many bee-keepers use artificial pollen in
springtime for stimulating purposes. This consists of finely ground pea
or oat meal, and is sprinkled among dry shavings or chaff in a box. A
good method of attracting bees to such supplies is to place the pollen,
etc., in an old skep hive which retains some propolis, or to place an
old quilt in the box. In any case this food supply must be kept in a
sheltered spot as directed on page 83.
_Water._--A plentiful supply of clean water should be placed in the
food shelter, for the bees use large quantities in the brood-rearing
operations. In each gallon of water 2 oz. of table salt should be
dissolved. The water should be placed in a glass jar which should be
covered with a saucer and then inverted. Should the saucer be deep,
some small pieces of wood or spent tea leaves should be placed in it to
form alighting places for the bees. Another method of supplying water
is to allow it to drip from a small barrel on to a sloping board.
_When to Stop Spring Feeding._--Artificial feeding must be stopped as
soon as the bees are able to collect their natural supplies of nectar
and pollen. This is usually about the time when the sycamore blooms,
but in districts where crocuses or willows are plentiful it will be
earlier.
=Autumn Feeding.=--It is when the honey-flow is ended, and there is
no more natural nectar available for the bees, that feeding must
again be resorted to if the bees are to be saved through the winter.
The old method of allowing the bees to fend for themselves and stand
the risk of starvation in the winter is now looked upon not only as
unnecessarily cruel but absolutely wasteful. The slight cost of feeding
them is amply repaid by the strength of the stock when spring once more
arrives.
When the bee-keepers are working up an apiary from swarms, or driven
bees, autumn feeding is essential, for it is very seldom that late
swarms or driven bees are capable of securing sufficient winter stores
without the assistance of the bee-keeper.
Food given in autumn should contain less water than that given in
the spring. The reason for this needs but slight consideration.
In springtime when the days become increasingly warmer, and the
temperature of the hive increases with the growth of the population,
the bees need thinner food. The increasing heat of the hive would ripen
thick nectar or syrup too quickly and give the bees extra work in
collecting water with which to thin the food for the brood. In autumn,
however, the tendency is to a falling temperature, and, though brood
may be reared, the temperature of the external atmosphere will keep
that in the hive down to the normal.
_Syrup for autumn feeding_ made according to the following formula will
be found to meet all requirements:--
Cane Sugar 10 lb.
Water 5 pints
Salt 1 oz.
Vinegar 1 tablespoonful
When feeding bees for the winter all supers of frames should be removed
from the hives, otherwise the bees are liable to form two clusters,
and it is generally the case in such an event that one of these falls
a prey to cold when severe weather comes. The supers above the
brood-chambers should be removed before feeding is commenced. If one is
placed under the brood-chamber to give additional air-space the frames
must be removed therefrom.
=Winter Feeding.=--If in winter the bees should be short of food, a
cake of candy may be put in the hive, placing it on pieces of wood
resting on the frames. The candy may be made in various ways. If some
is required at short notice it may be obtained by mixing some castor
sugar with a little thin honey into a stiff paste. If time will allow
of the honey being heated so much the better, for the candy will then
keep in good condition for some time.
A candy used by many bee-keepers for winter feeding is made by boiling
5 lb. of cane sugar in a quart of water for about 15 or 20 minutes.
After the sugar has dissolved and the scum has been removed, the
mixture should be allowed to boil briskly without stirring.
In order to ascertain when it has boiled sufficiently, a little should
be taken in a spoon and dropped into a cup of cold water. Should it
form into a soft ball on the bottom of the cup it is ready for "dishing
up"; if it mixes with the water, the boiling must be continued. It
should be poured from the saucepan into a tin or enamelled pan to cool.
As soon as it is cool enough for one to bear one's finger in it, it
should be stirred until it is resolved into a stiff paste. The stirring
breaks up the coarse grains of sugar and thereby makes the candy more
acceptable to the bees.
Should the mixture, on testing, prove brittle or stringy it is evidence
of over-boiling, and more water must be added until it boils to the
proper consistency.
A little honey may be added with advantage after the mixture has been
removed from the fire--but not before, or the whole will boil over and
be wasted. The honey will often prevent the candy from becoming too
hard to be of use to the bees.
=When Bees Refuse Food.=--There are times when the bees will refuse to
avail themselves of food, and when such is the case it is certain that
there is a reason for it. The bee-keeper should try to ascertain what
this may be without unnecessarily disturbing the bees and provided that
the weather is suitable to an examination of the hive.
_Starvation_ is often a cause of bees declining the food, or, rather,
not availing themselves of it. Hives that have been purchased may be
so short of food that the bees are too weak, to exert themselves to get
to the food supplied. In such cases the application of a little heat to
the hive will generally work, wonders. It may be done by warming some
common bricks and placing them on the quilt, after closing the entrance
to the hive. Care must be taken that the bricks are not too hot or the
combs will be melted. Such a proceeding will sometimes revive bees
that are practically dying from starvation, so that they will take
full advantage of any food that is offered to them. This remedy may be
applied in spring to moribund hives.
_Fermenting or Granulated food_ in the combs are other causes of the
bees declining to take other food. The first condition is usually
brought about through excessive moisture in or around the hive. Honey
that is gathered in late autumn, or syrup that is supplied to the bees,
may not become sufficiently ripe in the cells to be sealed by the bees,
and fermentation ensues.
=Old Honey Stores.=--If when examining the hives in spring it should be
found that there is any considerable quantity of dark coloured honey
left over from their winter store it is advisable to persuade the
bees to use it for brood-rearing. The cells in such combs should be
uncapped and placed near the centre of the brood-nest. All old stores
should thus be used up if possible, otherwise they may spoil the colour
and flavour of the new honey.
Should anything be the matter with the hive or bees, try to rectify
it; but, if the case be hopeless, burn or otherwise destroy the whole
rather than run any risk of contamination to other bees from disease.