【庭院养蜂】自制糖板，冬天喂蜜蜂（英文版）

After collecting the last grain of pollen from a Chrysanthemum bush, honey bees are ready for winter in the northern US. I help bees overwinter in two ways.

First, feed bees with 2:1 sugar water starting in early October. 2:1 sugar water is a mixture of 2 parts of sugar and 1 part of water. For example, 10 lb of sugar and 5 lb of water will make 2:1 sugar water. Sugar water is fed to bees in re-purposed ice-cream buckets. Fall feeding in my apiary is an all-you-can-eat buffet for the bees. A strong colony can take down 4-5 gallons of sugar water in a couple of weeks. By the time feeding is done there is probably a total of 60 lbs of honey in each hive, which is sufficient for a colony in Zone 6a. The honey storage will be the main source of food for the bees in winter.

The second thing I do to help bees overwinter is to give each colony a sugar board. A sugar board is essentially a board of hardened granulated sugar. Sugar board should not be the main source of energy for the colony, but rather an insurance policy. Sugar board also provides a little insulation and acts as moisture absorbent. Many types of sugar board or candy board are available commercially, but I prefer to make my own. Home-made sugar board is a lot cheaper and as good as or better than commercial boards. And it is easy to make.

Here is how I make sugar board.

1. The board for the sugar board. The board was made by stapling a queen excluder to a feeding shim. I cut out the center of the queen excluder to make it easier for bees to access the sugar. Since I will use leftover sugar in spring for fall feeding the following year, newspaper or packing paper is not recommended. It will be hard to remove the newspaper stuck to sugar in the spring.

2. A little pollen substitute for winter bees. I use 1:1 sugar water to make pollen patty. Mix 1 cup of sugar in 1 cup of water. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add pollen substitute to sugar water. Add a little vegetable oil to keep pollen patty moist. If too dry, add a little more sugar water. If too wet, add a little more pollen substitute. Mix ingredients until it feels like playdoh. I give every colony a softball size pollen patty. Pollen patty is placed on the southern side of access hole. Bees like it on the southern side.

3. What sugar to use? The best sugar is white granulated sugar, the lowest-priced sugar you can find at Costco, Walmart or a local grocery store. It does not matter if it is cane sugar or beet sugar. Just don’t use organic sugar, brown sugar or powdered sugar.

4. Mix sugar with water. I have tried different recipes for sugar board and found 330 ml of water per 10 lb of sugar to be the best. 330 ml water is 11 oz. Find a large tote box or tub and work outside. You will make a mess if you make sugar board in the kitchen. The amount of sugar for each colony is not exact science. 10 lb per colony seems to be a good amount. I have 6 colonies, so I need 60 lb of sugar. This is 50 lb sugar. This is 10 lb sugar. 50 lb sugar into the tub. An additional 10 lb into the tub. 330 ml water for 10 lb sugar, so 2000 ml water is needed for 60 lb of sugar. First 1000 ml of water. Mix sugar and water. It is advisable to wear rubber gloves to protect fingers. Another 1000 ml of water. A little apple cider may be helpful, but not required. I usually add 1 cup of apple cider to 60 lb of sugar. Mix sugar and water thoroughly until it feels like wet sand. Scoop up about 10 lb of wet sugar. Place wet sugar on board. Try to spread sugar evenly and snugly at the corners. This piece of lumber is to prevent wet sugar from falling through.

5. Harden sugar board. Sugar boards are placed in the garage for a few days. Sugar board will absorb moisture from the air and become rock hard. Remove the lumber block. Now the sugar boards are ready!

Sugar boards help honey bees overwinter successfully. Colonies come out of winter strong and healthy.

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【博文自荐】

雄蜜蜂为什么没有爹？

蜜蜂是怎么交配的？

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