Feeding sugar syrup? to much food available?

[harvey]

I took down a gallon of sugar syrup.  Mixed about 1 to 1.  I have a new hive and it needs to draw a lot of comb.  The bee's are ignoring it and me?   They are in and out of the hive a hundred miles and hour and just detour around me and the feeder I put out for them.  I put the feeder just a couple feet away from the main hive entrance.  They don't even seem to care it is there just buzz around it to go on there own way.   Should I leave it there or is there to much real stuff available right now for them to want it?   I still have one more week before I want to look inside.  I did try and adjust the top cover today but it is stuck on.  I will need to pry it off.  When I do that I want to be ready to inspect the whole hive.   I am looking at getting a new box, and bottom board cause I borrowed one to get started.  The bottom board is screwed onto the one I borrowed.  Think the bees will care if I pull all the frames from the old box and put them in a new one?  I will put them back the same order.

[luvin honey]

Hi harvey--I'm new, too, but I've been told it's best to feed bees INside the hive. Feeding OUTside encourages robbing by other colonies. Do you have a way of installing a feeder inside the hive? I have a Boardman with a Mason jar tucked in the back of my hive (topbar) and I know there a feeders specific to Langstroth hives.

Maybe your bees have enough of the real stuff around that they don't need to be fed! Can you see them coming back with pollen loaded on their legs?

Good luck!

[harvey]

They are coming back, in and out non stop but I didn't or couldn't tell if they were loaded down or not.  We have a lot of white clover, daiseys and other wild flowers open right now.  Just recently a lot of bushes in the fields and fence rows broke open with snowball like flowers.  Maybe they are just getting enough of the real stuff not to be interested.  I am not worried about other colonies as I only have on hive and don't know of any others for a mile or so.  We have lived here for 12 years and this is the first year  I even saw a honey bee on the property, and I saw a whole swarm.  Pretty cool huh!  Don't think I will be that lucky again next year but would like to add another hive next year. 

[Joelel]

I took down a gallon of sugar syrup.  Mixed about 1 to 1.  I have a new hive and it needs to draw a lot of comb.  The bee's are ignoring it and me?   They are in and out of the hive a hundred miles and hour and just detour around me and the feeder I put out for them.  I put the feeder just a couple feet away from the main hive entrance.  They don't even seem to care it is there just buzz around it to go on there own way.   Should I leave it there or is there to much real stuff available right now for them to want it?   I still have one more week before I want to look inside.  I did try and adjust the top cover today but it is stuck on.  I will need to pry it off.  When I do that I want to be ready to inspect the whole hive.   I am looking at getting a new box, and bottom board cause I borrowed one to get started.  The bottom board is screwed onto the one I borrowed.  Think the bees will care if I pull all the frames from the old box and put them in a new one?  I will put them back the same order.

Hi Harvey,I would never put a feeder out side the hive,all the bees from other hives will come feed there too.They will fight and kill each other and kill your bees.I also had a top feeder once and all the beetles in the country go in the hive and the feeder. I have found an entrance feeder is the best and close the entrance to about 2 inches,the guard bees can guard the small entrance real good and keep beetles and hive robbing bees out or kill them if they get in.We feed our new hives sugar and water 50 50.They love it.I never feed syrup.
  How did you get your hive started ? You need to go in your hives about every 2-3 weeks to see if everything is OK.It is alot better to use an inter cover under your top cover.Put screen over the center hole of the inter cover to keep them from bridging comb and sticking your cover down.the will still stick your inter cover down but it's alot easier to get the inter cover lose from the frames with out pulling them up with the top. Jut stick a knife in the side and pry the frames lose. My son and I figured this out on our own.Most people don't know to put screen over the hole in the inter cover,hope this helps all who reads.
 Please ask me any questions,I will help the best I can.We do many things different then most bee keepers.We figure things out on our own to do things a better way.We plan on getting into bee keeping big time.
 John

[harvey]

In regards to how i got the hive started?   I was walking in my orcard when I saw all these bee's hanging from one of my trees!   I got a cardboard box and put them in it.  then a couple days later a friend from work lent me a deep brood box with some old wax in it.  I poured the bees in there and wa la,  I have a bee hive.  Since I have ordered and recieved another brood box which I have on the old one and two med. supers witch are out in the garage for now.   I am going to wait another week before I check on the bee's.  They seem to be realy busy.  Last time I checked they had new brood capped in the frames and it looked like most of the bottom was being used.  I told them I would leave them alone for two weeks.

[Joelel]

They are coming back, in and out non stop but I didn't or couldn't tell if they were loaded down or not.  We have a lot of white clover, daiseys and other wild flowers open right now.  Just recently a lot of bushes in the fields and fence rows broke open with snowball like flowers.  Maybe they are just getting enough of the real stuff not to be interested.  I am not worried about other colonies as I only have on hive and don't know of any others for a mile or so.  We have lived here for 12 years and this is the first year  I even saw a honey bee on the property, and I saw a whole swarm.  Pretty cool huh!  Don't think I will be that lucky again next year but would like to add another hive next year. 

Hi,Harvey, Bees fly up to two miles to gather honey and pollen and you can all most sure there are wild honey bees around.
John

[Kathyp]

if they are ignoring your syrup, they have found something they like better.  when you check the health of your hive, also check the stores.  as long as they are putting it away for themselves, they are ok.  when blooms stop you need to keep an eye on stores so that they have enough for winter.  we can get into that later  :-).

if you are going to feed outside the hive, feed away from the hive.  i like poultry feeder.  i think TwT posted a nice picture and description of how to use them.  if you want to feed at the hive, my preference is a jar over the inner cover hole.  i have never screened that hole or found a need to.  a little comb up there is not a big deal, nor have i found it to be common.

yes, you may take the frames from the old box and place them in the new box.  that would be the easiest way to do it.

[Joelel]

In regards to how i got the hive started?   I was walking in my orcard when I saw all these bee's hanging from one of my trees!   I got a cardboard box and put them in it.  then a couple days later a friend from work lent me a deep brood box with some old wax in it.  I poured the bees in there and wa la,  I have a bee hive.  Since I have ordered and recieved another brood box which I have on the old one and two med. supers witch are out in the garage for now.   I am going to wait another week before I check on the bee's.  They seem to be realy busy.  Last time I checked they had new brood capped in the frames and it looked like most of the bottom was being used.  I told them I would leave them alone for two weeks.

Hi Harvey,You got off to a free start,cool.Give them plenty of room or they will swarm on you.If all your frames are full of bees you need to add a supper.

[Joelel]

if they are ignoring your syrup, they have found something they like better.  when you check the health of your hive, also check the stores.  as long as they are putting it away for themselves, they are ok.  when blooms stop you need to keep an eye on stores so that they have enough for winter.  we can get into that later  :-).

if you are going to feed outside the hive, feed away from the hive.  i like poultry feeder.  i think TwT posted a nice picture and description of how to use them.  if you want to feed at the hive, my preference is a jar over the inner cover hole.  i have never screened that hole or found a need to.  a little comb up there is not a big deal, nor have i found it to be common.

yes, you may take the frames from the old box and place them in the new box.  that would be the easiest way to do it.

Hi Kathy, Do you keep a jar feeder in your hives all the time ? If you don't,how do you remove your top cover and inter cover when all stuck together with out pulling the frames up with the covers ? Do you just leave the jar in their all the time even when not feeding them ? I got hard working bees and they stick things together real good.

[Kathyp]

i feed in the spring and probably in the fall depending on how much they have stored and what i take.  i do not have a problem with them sticking frames to hive top.  even if they build a little burr comb there, it does not pull frames.  i can't imagine them building strong enough comb through the inner cover hole to pull the frames.  they do stick the inner cover down, but that is normal.  do not remove the top and inner cover as a unit.   that may be your problem?.  remove the top cover, then the inner cover.  if you feel that things are stuck to the frames, turn the inner cover 1/4 of a turn before lifting.  that will break the burr comb.  do the same when moving boxes off each other.

if they are building that much comb in the wrong places, you may need to evaluate you space.  is there not enough room in the hive?  is there to much or to little space between frames and top.  is there to much space between frames in the box?  the frames should be pushed firmly together toward the middle of the box.

[Natalie]

Harvey, the bees will not care about being moved into a different box as long as you keep the frames in the same order and the hive in the same place, its kind of like what we do when we install nucs.
Just leave them alone after that until you need to inspect again.
When did you hive them? You should be able to inspect them now shouldn't you?
If it was a swarm then you should have a mated queen already laying.
When we install packages we can check them after a week, actually we can open the hive to make sure the queen was released from the cage after 3 days.
We don't go tearing into the brood nest after 3 days but you can open the hive if you need to look in.
If you have a problem with anything you need to know sooner than later so if they have been there a week I would at least peek in on them.

Joelel, most of the time when you hear beeks say syrup they are talking about sugar water, which is a kind of a syrup, which can be various ratios, 1:1, 2:1, the reverse and oh so many other possiblities.
All of it is referred to as syrup, fall syrup, spring syrup etc. because you feed different ratios at different times.
Entrance feeders can be a problem as well and many beeks will tell you to avoid using them because they can cause robbing.
I use them inside my topbar hives.
If you have a booming hive the entrance reducer needs to be taken off so there isn't a traffic jam and then anything can get through and rob, even with an entrance reducer small hive beetles can get in. They don't just walk in the front door, they can get in any nook and cranny and they actually like to hang out on the inner cover.
I have used top feeders and jars with no problems at all, the top feeder is inside the hive and the jars can be used inside the hive with a super over them or can be used in holes cut into a migratory cover.
As far as feeding outside the hive, its called community feeding or open feeding and alot of people who have several or many hives feed that way.
It should not cause robbing if you have enough for everyone and you feed away from the hive as Kathy said.
The poultry feeders work great, I just put some small stones in the reservoir so the bees don't drown and I also have used a top feeder with the floats and that worked really well.
They aren't going to go into a hive to rob if there is a feeder of "syrup" sitting out in the open for the taking.
I have done it because I have 10 hives hives that need to be fed all at once, if I feed them all seperately and one hive or more runs out before the others and I don't catch it then I can have robbing.
If you keep the community feeders filled up they all have an equal amount of food available to them. 
If the other neighborhood colonies want to come over for lunch I am okay with that.
Also, can you please add your location to your profile so you are not hopelessly lost, it will help other members to answer your questions since many of them relate to a person's area as in weather, climate, flows etc.
Out of curiosity, what is it that you have figured out on your own to do differently and better than the rest of us beekeepers?

[Joelel]

Harvey, the bees will not care about being moved into a different box as long as you keep the frames in the same order and the hive in the same place, its kind of like what we do when we install nucs.
Just leave them alone after that until you need to inspect again.
When did you hive them? You should be able to inspect them now shouldn't you?
If it was a swarm then you should have a mated queen already laying.
When we install packages we can check them after a week, actually we can open the hive to make sure the queen was released from the cage after 3 days.
We don't go tearing into the brood nest after 3 days but you can open the hive if you need to look in.
If you have a problem with anything you need to know sooner than later so if they have been there a week I would at least peek in on them.

Joelel, most of the time when you hear beeks say syrup they are talking about sugar water, which is a kind of a syrup, which can be various ratios, 1:1, 2:1, the reverse and oh so many other possiblities.
All of it is referred to as syrup, fall syrup, spring syrup etc. because you feed different ratios at different times.
Entrance feeders can be a problem as well and many beeks will tell you to avoid using them because they can cause robbing.
I use them inside my topbar hives.
If you have a booming hive the entrance reducer needs to be taken off so there isn't a traffic jam and then anything can get through and rob, even with an entrance reducer small hive beetles can get in. They don't just walk in the front door, they can get in any nook and cranny and they actually like to hang out on the inner cover.
I have used top feeders and jars with no problems at all, the top feeder is inside the hive and the jars can be used inside the hive with a super over them or can be used in holes cut into a migratory cover.
As far as feeding outside the hive, its called community feeding or open feeding and alot of people who have several or many hives feed that way.
It should not cause robbing if you have enough for everyone and you feed away from the hive as Kathy said.
The poultry feeders work great, I just put some small stones in the reservoir so the bees don't drown and I also have used a top feeder with the floats and that worked really well.
They aren't going to go into a hive to rob if there is a feeder of "syrup" sitting out in the open for the taking.
I have done it because I have 10 hives hives that need to be fed all at once, if I feed them all seperately and one hive or more runs out before the others and I don't catch it then I can have robbing.
If you keep the community feeders filled up they all have an equal amount of food available to them.  
If the other neighborhood colonies want to come over for lunch I am okay with that.
Also, can you please add your location to your profile so you are not hopelessly lost, it will help other members to answer your questions since many of them relate to a person's area as in weather, climate, flows etc.
Out of curiosity, what is it that you have figured out on your own to do differently and better than the rest of us beekeepers?

Hi, We do things like,Put chicken wire on the bottom of our stands to keep coons and the like out.Screened bottom board with a sliding board to open and close in summer and winter and for vent.Screened inter cover so you can remove the outer cover and check your frames regular with out messing with the bees and keep things from getting stuck together. Open and close entrance as bees grow and get smaller in number so there is no traffic jams and so the guards can do a good job at keeping robbers and beetles and the like out. If you want to feed all the wild bees in the neighborhood be my guest and the fact is, bees from different hives all feeding at the same feeder kill each other. Here in Texas people know the differance between sugar water and syrup. If you need to feed your bees year round at different times,you need to cut back on your number of hives because they are not finding enough pollen and water.We only feed new hives we start. Entrance feeders don't cause robbing if you close the entrance as needed so the guards can kill the robbers.Fact is,most people think they do things the best way.If you think your way is the best way,do it your way.

[Natalie]

Well first of all I don't feed my bees year round, I don't know where you got that impression as I never stated that in my post.
I feed a new package and if they are going to starve for some reason then I will feed them then( it hasn't happened yet) but other than that I do not like artificial feeding.
What I said is that some beeks feed syrup in the spring which is one kind of ratio and then the fall which is another ratio.
I could put another 20 hives on my property and they would still get enough pollen and nectar from our abundant sources,(aside from our regular area sources I live within a mile of two nurseries and flower farms) the water they can find anywhere.
Your comment about "here in Texas people know the difference between sugar water and syrup" is rude, are you saying the members of this forum do not know the difference?
I was simply pointing out that sugar water is referred to as syrup so that there were no misunderstandings since harvey and kathy both used the term syrup and you thought it was something other than sugar water.
As far as fighting and killing at the communal feeding station, I have never seen it and it works for me.
There are several beeks here that I know of that practice that method, as Kathy previously mentioned herself and twt have done it as well.
You can have your opinion on it but its not all that black and white.
Secondly where did I say I do things the best way? I asked you what your new ideas were out of curiousity, beekeepers are always trying to learn something new are they not?
In fact I also have screened inner covers, all the bee supply stores sell them for the purpose you stated as well as the screened bottom boards.
I think at least half of the people on this forum use screened bottom boards now since the bee supply places started selling them for mite control and ventilation.
Entrance reducers are sold and instructed for use just as you stated, adjustable for the size of the colony and the traffic going in and out.
I and alot of others put screen over the opening in the inner cover, then put the feeder jars over the screen.
It appears that you do alot of the same things as the rest of us here.
You can read some of the older threads in the forum, doing a search with the key words you will  find alot of other useful information and ideas that may help you.

[Kathyp]

neighborhood be my guest and the fact is, bees from different hives all feeding at the same feeder kill each other

this is only true when you feed to close to the hives.  it is true that you will feed other than your own bees, but not so many as to make a difference.  communal feeding has it's place in some yards.  especially bigger yards, or for those who do not have time to go hive to hive to refill feeders.  it actually reduces robbing in the yard if done right.

as for the other things you do, it sounds like you are off to a good start.  do not be afraid to try new things.  experiment a little and share what you learn.  :-)

[Joelel]

Well first of all I don't feed my bees year round, I don't know where you got that impression as I never stated that in my post.
I feed a new package and if they are going to starve for some reason then I will feed them then( it hasn't happened yet) but other than that I do not like artificial feeding.
What I said is that some beeks feed syrup in the spring which is one kind of ratio and then the fall which is another ratio.
I could put another 20 hives on my property and they would still get enough pollen and nectar from our abundant sources,(aside from our regular area sources I live within a mile of two nurseries and flower farms) the water they can find anywhere.
Your comment about "here in Texas people know the difference between sugar water and syrup" is rude, are you saying the members of this forum do not know the difference?
I was simply pointing out that sugar water is referred to as syrup so that there were no misunderstandings since harvey and kathy both used the term syrup and you thought it was something other than sugar water.
As far as fighting and killing at the communal feeding station, I have never seen it and it works for me.
There are several beeks here that I know of that practice that method, as Kathy previously mentioned herself and twt have done it as well.
You can have your opinion on it but its not all that black and white.
Secondly where did I say I do things the best way? I asked you what your new ideas were out of curiousity, beekeepers are always trying to learn something new are they not?
In fact I also have screened inner covers, all the bee supply stores sell them for the purpose you stated as well as the screened bottom boards.
I think at least half of the people on this forum use screened bottom boards now since the bee supply places started selling them for mite control and ventilation.
Entrance reducers are sold and instructed for use just as you stated, adjustable for the size of the colony and the traffic going in and out.
I and alot of others put screen over the opening in the inner cover, then put the feeder jars over the screen.
It appears that you do alot of the same things as the rest of us here.
You can read some of the older threads in the forum, doing a search with the key words you will  find alot of other useful information and ideas that may help you.

You said>I have done it because I have 10 hives hives that need to be fed all at once, if I feed them all seperately and one hive or more runs out before the others and I don't catch it then I can have robbing.

Sorry if I sounded rude,there is a difference between sugar water and syrup. If you say syrup,I don't think sugar water, If you say super,I don't think body, if you say boxes,I don't know what your saying.

Next,I never seen a screened inter cover in a store or on the net and never herd of anyone using them.

[Natalie]

Here you go
http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/8-Frame-Ventilated-Inner-Cover-Moving-Screen/productinfo/210/

http://www.gabees.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=34_63&products_id=179&osCsid=433e7a165db61abb8898da3be6726f46

I did say I needed to feed 10 hives at once, not sure what you are getting at.
I got ten hives this year and I fed them all at once to get them started, most people do feed when they hive new packages.
As for the terminology, you say you don't know what it means or never heard it called that before.
Exactly, thats why I filled you in on that.
Other beeks are going to call sugar water syrup, some call their equipment, brood boxes, supers, hive bodies etc.
The reason why I explained it to you is so you would know what we are talking about.
We may all call things by different names and thats fine, but other people are still going to call them what they want so its good to be familiar with all the terminology so we can follow their posts.
I don't always use the same terminology as others either, but I understand what they are saying only because I have familiarized myself with the terms.

[Joelel]

Here you go
http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/8-Frame-Ventilated-Inner-Cover-Moving-Screen/productinfo/210/

http://www.gabees.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=34_63&products_id=179&osCsid=433e7a165db61abb8898da3be6726f46

I did say I needed to feed 10 hives at once, not sure what you are getting at.
I got ten hives this year and I fed them all at once to get them started, most people do feed when they hive new packages.
As for the terminology, you say you don't know what it means or never heard it called that before.
Exactly, thats why I filled you in on that.
Other beeks are going to call sugar water syrup, some call their equipment, brood boxes, supers, hive bodies etc.
The reason why I explained it to you is so you would know what we are talking about.
We may all call things by different names and thats fine, but other people are still going to call them what they want so its good to be familiar with all the terminology so we can follow their posts.
I don't always use the same terminology as others either, but I understand what they are saying only because I have familiarized myself with the terms.

You said>I have done it because I have 10 hives hives that need to be fed all at once, if I feed them all seperately and one hive or more runs out before the others and I don't catch it then I can have robbing.

That tells me you feed your hives more then when you start a new one.

Yes many different kind of equipment can be called equipment but sugar water is not syrup and should not be called syrup.

Great,someone else thought of a inter screened cover.We build our own as we build all of our hive,bottoms,bodies,supers,covers. Tell me,is the cover part of the hive when it's on the super or only when you have it on the body without a super ? Or is the cover part of the hive ?

[Kathyp]

what, then, is syrup?

[Natalie]

That does not tell you that I feed my hives more than when I first hive them.
It tells you exactly what I said, I need to feed all ten hives at the same time. I got ten packages at the same time and hived them at the same time and I need to feed them all at once.
Where is the mystery here?
As far as the syrup thing, you need to let that go. I don't know why you care that its called that but that is what it is called by alot of people.
I did not invent it but I do recognize the terminology therefor I can follow the posts here when people refer to feeding fall syrup etc.

But now that I think of it what do you get when you put sugar and water together and heat it?
What is syrup?
This is what the trusty dictionary says:
A thick, sweet, sticky liquid, consisting of a sugar base, natural or artificial flavorings, and water.
The juice of a fruit or plant boiled with sugar until thick and sticky.
A concentrated solution of sugar in water, often used as a vehicle for medicine.

For the nonsense you wrote at the end of your post, it makes no sense and you are trying to be oppositional as you have been in almost every post you have made here so far.
It appears that you are dragging another thread into this thread which is not allowed.
I enjoy the input of all the members here, do not get offended because I do not agree with everything you say or do not choose your advice. You are new here and you only just got your first hive with your son so I may be more inclined to take the advice of someone else and you should not take offense.

You do not seem to agree with anyone about anything on this forum and I am not sure why.
There are thousands of people on this forum and thousands of opinions which everyone is entitled to without being proved wrong by one member.
Being a new beekeeper you could benefit from the advice and knowldege of all the members of this forum if you were open to it.
Now this banter is not helping the person who started this thread because they needed help and it would be nice to let them get this back on track so they can get answers to their question.

[Joelel]

what, then, is syrup?

Syrup is when you buy a package of bees and you get a can of syrup with the package made for bees. Bee syrup is made for bees.Sugar water is home made and many people refer to it as syrup.


Table sugar is primarily
made of sucrose sucrose   See it
the primary sugar in nectar; also the primary ingredient of common granulated sugar.  Sucrose comprises a small percentage of the carbohydrates (sugars) in honey.
See also: fructose, dextrose, sugar syrup
 

A gallon of sugar syrup
ready to feed to bees sugar syrup   See it
sugar/water solution, used to feed bees during a period of nectar dearth, to encourage comb production in a new hive or during requeening, or as a medium for administration of medication.  Syrup is typically made from sucrose for small-quantity, backyard beekeeping applications.  Many commercial beekeepers use large volumes of high-fructose corn syrup.
See also: fructose, dextrose, Sugar Syrup