Feeding new package April

[labradorfarms]

Ok im going to use a Hive top feeder when, my bees arrive in April.... My question is  how to mix the sugar and water? Is any old sugar ok? I read Cane sugar and beet sugar is ok... My local Kroger has cain sugar. I have never heard of beet sugar.... I have read many mixing recipes. One said mix equal parts sugar and water the other said mix 2 parts sugar one part water? So basicly a 2 to 1 ratio would be to mix a half a gallon of water to a gallon sugar?  Should my new package that is starting from nothing be feed 2 parts sugar to 1 part water?
How does one prepare this mixture? boil sugar and water together or boil water then mix sugar?
Help please?

[ggileau]

I would use 1:1 sugar/water until fall. Either volume or weight, it will be the same. In other words, 1 pound of sugar to 1 pound of water or 1 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water. I mix mine up with good hot tap water and I have no problems. 1:1 mixture is close to what they can forage naturally so it will stimulate the bees to build comb and raise brood. Later in the fall it is about building reserves so that they can overwinter well so then you go to 2:1. Many people believe that you should feed most of the year with a new package.

A new package is kind of like a swarm, they are starting out with very few resources. We are just there to assist the bees in doing what they have already been doing for about a hundred million years. Just keep the feed on them to begin with and watch the progress.

[OldMech]

ggileau gave good advice.

  when the time comes to mix the 2/1 for fall.. I hat the water to JUST about boiling and shut off the heat.. add the sugar and stir.. it will get milky quick.. keep stirring until it becomes nice and clear and set it aside to cool before pouring it into the feeder.

   My experience with spring feeding didnt go as well as most claim it will the first time.   I was told to feed/feed/feed and then feed a little more.   My bees made a lot of comb quick.. and almost instantly filled EVERY CELL of the comb they made with syrup... it took me a bit to understand why I had so very little brood and my bees were dwindling.  I stopped feeding for a couple weeks, and as the queen began filling now empty cells with eggs, I returned to feeding them a little more cautiously. Then they managed to catch up and do well after that. 
   I have read that once a good FLOW starts they will no longer take the syrup..  Perhaps my bees are greedy.. but if I have syrup out, every single hive begins packing it away as fast as they can.    So use a bit of caution!   Everyone's bees, Methods, and locations can differ a lot, so becoming a beekeeper also means learning to sift pertinent information out of the encyclopedia of knowledge you are now perusing :)

[buzzbee]

http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,36799.0.html

[Joe D]

When I do feed my bees, I get the water hot out of the tap.  Put a little hot water in a gal pitcher, add a four pound bag of sugar, and fill with water and stir and shake the pitcher until dissolved.  About everyother pitcher I will crush a 1000mg vitamin C tablet dissolve and add.  When the flow gets going my bees will quit taking the sugar syrup.  I usually feed about 1 gal to 2 gal per hive a year here in the deep south.




Joe

[mikecva]

Ok, my cents worth:   

1 Gallons [US] = 8.34526 Pounds

So to 3 gallons of boiling water I add in 25 pounds of sugar (5 lbs at a time) stir until almost clear. Then add another 5 lbs, stir, add . . . . well you get the picture. I turned off the high heat when the first bag of sugar went in, and off when the last of the sugar went in. The water will have a slight yellowish color. I then let it cool completely (covered) and transfer to gallon water buckets for feeding.

I have been deep frying our turkeys for about 28 years so I have found the deep fryer with its spout excellent for mixing my sugar water and it is easy to clean.    -Mike

[capt44]

In the spring I mix 1-1 cane sugar and water.
When buying sugar make sure it's cane sugar.
When they raise Beets they will treat them with an insecticide to keep worms out of the beets.
There is still traces of that insecticide in the Sugar after it is processed that is lethal to honey bees.
If Cane Sugar is not on the bag label then contact the distributor, they usually have a number on the package.
Rule of thumb is if it was raised in the Midwest it is usually beet sugar.
If it was raised in the deep south it's usually cane sugar.

[Vance G]

I find absolutely no difference in build up or health from feeding beet sugar which is boiled sugar beet juice to which chemicals are added that precipitate out sugar crystals in a chemical reaction, just like cane sugar is sugar cane juice to which they add chemicals to precipitate out sugar crystals in a chemical reaction. Cane sugar when available tends to be higher priced here so I usually feed beet sugar.