Why We Feed During the Summer
A common feeding method is a mason jar top feeder, but we prefer the internal deep feeders during the summer months.
Q & A: Why do you feed your bees during the summer?
Great question! This is one we get often especially from the newer beekeepers. Our hives are located in Hancock County, Georgia which falls in Zone 8a on the USDA Plant Hardiness Growing Zone Map. While there are a few plants, such as buckwheat and crepe myrtles, that are currently flowering in our zone, the majority of the honey bee nectar sources are completely finished for the year as the temperature here continues to ramp up throughout July and into August and September. At BeeCo Apiary, March through May is when we see the greatest concentration of flowering plants and, consequently, the most bee activity in our apiary. So although the bees have spent the past few months collecting nectar and turning it into beautiful, delicious wildflower honey, there are three reasons why we continue to feed them a 1:1 sugar water ratio, and why you should too if you’re in our same zone!
This frame shows bees in the process of building out the comb. The black base is what a frame looks like prior to us putting it into a hive. Without an adequate food source, the bees are unable to draw out the comb across a frame which is what we aim to prevent with intensive summer feeding.
3 Reasons We Feed our Bees during the Summer Months
To ensure nutritional needs are met. — Simply put, there is just not enough local nectar in our specific geographic area during the summer for the bees. A regional aspect of our honey production will vary drastically from what an apiary or beekeeper located just 100 miles north or south of us may experience. Our apiary (located in Hancock County, GA) is set among a landscape predominately consisting of planted pine trees and native local blooming plants. Since we are not in a heavy agricultural area with cotton, corn, soybean, or any type of row cropping, our bees rely exclusively on one primary nectar flow from March to May when local flowering plants are blooming. We do not feed any sugar water during this nectar flow to ensure that capped honey we harvest is from what the bees collect naturally. Our native flowering plants during that nectar flow include privet, persimmon, dandelions, tulip poplar, clover, and blackberry. They’re what make the BeeCo Wildflower honey delicious!
To encourage comb building. — If the bees have enough feed, they will build more comb. As beekeepers, we want to do everything we can to ensure the bees are not stressed about finding enough food. Feeding a 1:1 sugar water ratio in deep internal feeders during the summer months means that the hive can focus on building comb which is essential to all of the other aspects of a healthy hive. The bees need drawn comb in order for the queen to have a place to lay eggs. They also use the comb as a place to collect and store away pollen, nectar, and honey. So, more comb = more bees, more pollen, more nectar, and more honey. Thus, the ability of bees to build comb and, build it quickly and efficiently, is a key feature of a strong, healthy hive.
To maintain a stable population in the hive. — Honey bees have a lifespan of ~6 weeks. Therefore, a healthy hive is constantly reproducing to replenish bees and maintain the population. We feed during the summer to provide a nutritional base so the colony is as strong as possible going into winter. By making sure the bees have a consistent food source through the deep internal feeders we use during the summer, we can encourage the hive to build up. If the hive is not stressed about finding food, the bees can put more energy into the tasks associated with hive maintenance and growth, such as nurturing and feeding bee larvae and feeding the queen to ensure she continues to lay eggs.
Through consistent summer feeding, we can encourage strong hive health in our apiary. This is the work we do in anticipation of the colder winter months when bee activity comes almost to a complete standstill. With a bit of extra effort, planning, and feeding during the summer, we can do our part as beekeepers to set our hives up for success next spring.
-Mary & Katherine
Drawn comb is essential to hive health and production. Bees use the comb for growing larvae and storing honey as shown on this frame.
Drawn comb provides the space for the larvae to grow into new bees and storage of honey and pollen as shown on this frame.
Capped brood. The bees need adequate nutrition to tend to the larvae and queen.