Glossary
A comprehensive guide to preparing and feeding sugar syrup to honey bee colonies as a supplemental food source. Sugar syrup recipes, their appropriate seasonal uses, feeding equipment options, and the principles governing when supplemental feeding is beneficial versus unnecessary.
1:1 syrup (equal parts sugar and water by weight): a thin syrup that simulates nectar. Used in spring to stimulate brood rearing and encourage comb building. The thin consistency triggers the colony's nectar-processing behavior, stimulating the queen to increase laying and workers to draw new wax comb.
2:1 syrup (two parts sugar to one part water by weight): a thick, concentrated syrup used in fall to build up food stores for winter. The reduced water content means bees need to do less evaporation work to process it into stored food, maintaining efficiency when time before winter is limited.
Use only white granulated sugar. Never feed brown sugar, powdered sugar (contains cornstarch), raw sugar, molasses, corn syrup, or artificial sweeteners, as these contain compounds that can cause dysentery in bees. Dissolve sugar in warm water,;do not boil, as caramelization produces hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), which is toxic to bees.
Feed in internal feeders (frame feeders, top feeders) to prevent robbing from neighboring colonies. Never feed in open containers outside the hive during dearth periods, as this attracts bees from all nearby colonies and can trigger intense robbing behavior.
Feed 1:1 syrup in spring to stimulate buildup if natural pollen and nectar are not yet available. Feed 2:1 syrup in fall if the colony has insufficient honey stores for winter (below 60 pounds in temperate climates). Do not feed during an active nectar flow because it is unnecessary and syrup may contaminate the honey crop.
Sugar syrup is nutritionally inferior to honey (it lacks the vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and antioxidants in honey), but it provides adequate calories for survival and colony building. It is a management tool, not a permanent diet. Bees should obtain the majority of their nutrition from natural nectar and pollen.
Only feed honey from your own healthy colonies. Never feed honey from unknown sources because it may contain American foulbrood spores, which could infect your colonies. Honey from grocery stores may come from AFB-infected operations. Sugar syrup is safer than unknown honey.
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