Feeding Our Bees
Honey vs Syrup
With winter just around the corner, beekeepers will be making sure their bees will have plenty of stores to see them through this critical period.
Artificial feeds such as sugar syrup, inverted syrup, fondant etc. are usually the go to products used to help achieve this.
The mantra is that well fed bees are healthy bees, which is true to a point, but a lot depends on where that nutrition source comes from.
Bees need a diverse array plants and trees from which to gather their nutrition. Each source will have its unique benefits containing hundreds of vital nutrients and compounds which help them in their immune defence and are key to maintaining the health of a colony. When bees consume their stores, they are in effect self-medicating.
Some of the unique beneficial compounds found in nectar are often referred to as 2nd metabolites (fatty acids, essential oils and microorganisms) These antimicrobial substances can help reduce the effects of agricultural pesticides and particularly, in- hive acaricides (often found in varroa treatments).
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​​Unfortunately, the aforementioned artificial feeds to not contain many of these vital nutrients. The above picture on the right shows a microscopy image of the midguts of 3 newly emerged bees that have been fed candy with varying levels of honey added, over a period of 3 days. There is a stark difference in their development and vitality of their micro biome which will ultimately affect the strength of their individual immune defences. The following links will explain in more detail:
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0031051
Even more importantly, the nutrients found in honey also act as a preventative agent against many pathogens encountered in nature, including both American & European Foul Brood.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25505523/
It’s well documented that the level of foulbrood disease found in wild or feral colonies is VERY low. Although there maybe a number of factors at play here undoubtably nutrition will play a part.
There are a lack of scientific studies in this area but one carried out in New Zealand in 2010 came up with a number of interesting conclusions:
‘The low incidence of this disease found in the feral colonies suggests that much of the American foulbrood disease reported in managed colonies results from the management techniques used rather than from cross contamination from feral bees’
https://www.tandfonline.com/.../10.../03014223.1994.9517996
Other areas of concern that have been observed and might be worthy of consideration:
• Influence on Queen Production: The quality of food provided to a queen can impact her reproductive performance and longevity.
• Potential for Overfeeding: Just because the bees take down sugar syrup on offer to them doesn’t always mean they necessarily need it. It can be overfed leading to an excessive build-up of excess sugar in the hive which can create an environment conducive to the growth of fungal pathogens and pests.
• Dilution of Natural Pheromones: Sugar syrup can dilute the natural pheromones present in the hive, which are essential for communication and social organisation of the colony.
• Impact on Brood Development: The quality of food provided to immature bees can effect their development and growth
Artificial feeds have their uses in emergency situations but to use them on an annual basis as a matter of course might well be affecting the health and vitality of your colonies.
Personally, I don’t feed my bees. The handful of times I have fed a colony it’s with honey I have kept back in a frame feeder from the end of a harvest. I make sure I leave enough of their hard earned stores on the hive to see them through. Another rule of thumb I follow is - don’t consider taking any honey from an evolving colony during its first year. All things being equal and homed in an appropriately setup and insulated hive a new colony will collect enough stores to see them through their first winter. (Late swarms may need support)
Nature is a wonderful thing. The further we disconnect the bees from their innate preferences the more we will upset the wonderful balance in nature that exists.
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Simon Kellam - 8/9/24
