How long should a gallon of 1:1syrup last a 3# package?

[gguidester]

Installed 2 ea. 3# packages on Tues. evening.  Put a gallon of syrup in ea. hive top feeder.  Queens were released day one.  Plenty of activity midday yesterday and today.  When do I have to check the feeders to be safe.  Want to leave well enough alone. Seems to be going well.  Thanks in advance for any tips.  I am sure I will be asking lots of questions.

[doak]

It is M.T. fill it up.doak

[Moonshae]

Odds are good that 1 gallon will spoil before the bees can use it all, though. Keep an eye out for nasty growth in the syrup.

[MustbeeNuts]

For what its worth , I also have new packages, they use a quart in a day , I fill it up every night. so I would say 4 days if there really taking it. Unless its real cold. Its gone by 4pm.

[doak]

But you didn't and we didn't ask what kind of nectar flow you have where your at.doak

[Cindi]

It totally depends on your area, absolutely, what the nectar flow is like.  When we have hived package bees in the third week of April before, we fed them for about 6 weeks.  They consumed all the honey always given to them.  I would say that they were using about 1 gallon per week, if memory serves well.  I remember this because I was astounded that they would require so much.  They were hived on foundation only.  Didn't have any drawn foundation, that could have been possible.  Beautiful and most wonderful day, Cindi

[indypartridge]

Hello and Welcome!

Glad you found our forum!  This is a great place to learn about beekeeping.

First - to answer your question - "it depends". As others have noted, a quart a day is a rough average, but that is highly variable depending on things such as weather and what is blooming (nectar flow).

Second - please update your profile to include your location. Much of beekeeping is "location specific". Very often the answer to a question depends on WHERE you are.

Third - this forum has a great 'search' feature. Many times when I have a question, I do a search first and find that there are several threads which have already discussed it. Very useful if you want an immediate answer!

[Nate]

my 2 hives have each been consuming about a gallon per week since they were hived on april 4th.  (slowed down a tad bit after the first 2 weeks)

[thomashton]

I have zero flow right now in Northern Utah. Heck. It even snowed all day yesterday on May 1st.

They have been taking about a gallon per week. I've had my new packages hived about two weeks and just yesterday I fed them their 3rd gallons each.

[BMAC]

I had 3 packages this year that sucked the syrup down in about 2 days.  The only ones that are sluggish now are my 3 frame NUCs.....

[Michael Bush]

Somewhere between an hour and six months... ;)

[johnnybigfish]

I fed my bees(2 hives) from last spring all summer long pretty much..They just kept eating it! One gallon would last about 2 to 3 days in my hive top feeders.
 This spring, my new package is already not eating it anymore, and a split i did isnt eating it either...Its totally different from last spring.
your friend,
john

[the kid]

Somewhere between an hour and six months... ;)

I like your humor ,,, you sound like someone easy to get along with..
you can say things with a little humor ,, but not a mean humor.....
the kid

[Michael Bush]

I have seen them suck down a quart of syrup overnight.  I've seen them ignore syrup for months...

Reality is there isn't a right answer.

Yes, I was exaggerating a bit. ;)