White sugar (sucrose) is the preferred sugar to feed to bees. Many other products have the potential to contain substances that could be deleterious to honey bee health. Sugar should not be fed to bee colonies when they have access to a natural nectar flow.
Medium to strong bee colonies can be fed dry white table sugar placed on hive mats or in-trays under the hive lid. Bees need water to liquefy the sugar crystals. They will source water from outside the hive or use condensation from inside the hive.
Honey substitutes
Compared to sugar water, it is much less work for bees to process thicker solutions like ambrosia® bee feed syrup because the inversion takes much less glandular effort. Alternatively, beekeepers also prepare a fondant using powdered sugar and honey, but this is very labor-intensive and expensive.
“Do not feed them honey, jam, sugary drinks or brown, icing or caster sugar.
Cane or beet sugar
Both cane and beet sugars are pure sucrose, so both are appropriate for bees.
The proportions of glucose and fructose in honey and sugar are different: sugar is 50 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose. honey contains 40 percent fructose and 30 percent glucose.
Researchers at Newcastle University have discovered why bees tend to stay fixated on a certain flower until all of the nectar is gone.
Nearly all store-bought powdered sugars contain corn starch, which is used as an anti-caking agent. Bees cannot digest corn starch and since it's inevitable that they will eat some of the powdered sugar, it's best to make your own.
1 part sugar to 1 part water is what beekeepers will give their brand-new bees in the spring. It attempts to mimic thin nectar as best as possible. And the other mixture is 2 parts sugar to 1 part water, which is a thick syrup used traditionally in the fall.
Up to one cup, honey can be substituted for sugar in equal amounts. For example, you can substitute 1/2 cup of honey for 1/2 cup of sugar called for in a recipe. Over one cup, use about 2/3-3/4 cup of honey for every cup of sugar. This is because honey is actually sweeter than sugar.
White sugar (sucrose) is the preferred sugar to feed to bees. Many other products have the potential to contain substances that could be deleterious to honey bee health. Sugar should not be fed to bee colonies when they have access to a natural nectar flow.
Although honey bees primarily feed on liquid nectar, they also can feed on dry sugar; however, the feeding mechanism for feeding on dry substances by a primarily fluid-feeding insect remains unexplored.
Bees don't need to be fed, but feeding them a bit of sugar water from a spoon won't do any harm provided this is a one time thing. The problem is that people have expanded on the myth. If a bit of sugar water for an exhausted bee is good, then a lot of sugar water for all the bees must be better.
The RSPB suggests getting a small container or spoon and offering two tablespoons of granulated white sugar to one tablespoon of water. If you have your Bee Revival Keyring, this is an easy step for your spontaneous encounter with a tired bee.
Honey bees will not drink syrup that is too cold. Once the temperature of the syrup drops to a certain point—somewhere in the low 50s°F—the bees would become chilled if they were to drink it. Imagine how you would feel downing an icy beverage when you are nearly immobile with cold.
That may not sound like a big deal, but some beekeepers believe that pests and disease such as varroa mites and chalkbrood reproduce and thrive at higher pH levels. Therefore, too much sugar water can throw off the pH balance of the hive, which in turn can be detrimental to the colony's health.
A worker bee needs 11 milligrams (mg) of dry sugar each day, which translates to about 22 microliters (µl) of 50% (1:1 ratio) sugar syrup per bee per day. One teaspoon full of 50% syrup is about 5 milliliters (ml), which provides enough food for 227 bees for a day.
Thymol. Essential oils are natural compounds distilled from plants. The most popular essential oil for varroa mite control is thymol (from a thyme plant). While thymol treatment can effectively control mites on adult bees, it cannot penetrate the cell cappings, so does not control mites in brood cells.
Honey bees have no problem eating crystallized honey. They've been doing it longer than mankind has been around to worry about it. Yes, honey bees will eat crystallized honey and there is no harm in feeding it to them.
Molasses is toxic to bees as are the artificial sweeteners. Although we can eat these sweeteners without problems, the bees cannot.
Sugar offers no nutrients to bees or humans, and a lack of protein can even lead to bees eating their own eggs to keep themselves going.
In fact, the wrong type of sugar can cause bees to develop dysentery and start making tainted honey or bee pollen. For beekeepers trying to collect and distribute bulk honey for sale, this can mean significant financial losses as well.
Honey bees can store sugar syrup just like they store honey, but they cannot change sugar syrup into honey. Syrup is made from sugar and water, but honey is made from nectar.