Content
- 1 How to make bee sugar syrup
- 2 How to make sugar bee syrup
- 3 Pepper syrup for bees
- 4 How to make vinegar sugar syrup for bees
- 5 How to cook garlic sugar bee syrup
- 6 Bee syrup with citric acid
- 7 How to make syrup for bees with pine needles
- 8 How to cook wormwood syrup for bees
- 9 Bee feeding schedule
- 10 Conclusion
As a rule, the winter period of time is the hardest for bees, which is why they need enhanced nutrition, which will allow insects to gain the necessary amount of energy to heat their bodies. Almost all beekeepers at such moments use bee syrup, which is quite healthy and nutritious. The effectiveness of such feeding depends entirely on proper preparation and adherence to concentration.
How to make bee sugar syrup
It is allowed to use only high-quality ingredients for cooking. The water must be clean and free of impurities. Distilled water is best. Granulated sugar is taken of high quality, it is not recommended to use refined sugar.
In the process of preparation, it is equally important to observe the proportions of sugar syrup for bees. In this case, you can use the table. If the technologies are not followed, then the bees will refuse feeding.
Many experienced beekeepers recommend adding a small amount of vinegar to create and maintain an acidic environment. In addition, the sugar product with the addition of vinegar allows insects to accumulate fat mass and significantly increases the amount of brood obtained.
It is also important to consider that the top dressing should not be too thick. This is due to the fact that bees will spend a lot of time processing the liquid into a suitable state, as a result of which a lot of moisture will be used up. Liquid feeding is also not recommended, as the digestion process will be long and can lead to the death of the entire family.
Table for the preparation of sugar syrup for feeding bees
Before starting work, it is recommended that you first familiarize yourself with the syrup table for feeding bees.
Syrup (l) | Syrup preparation proportions | |||||||
2*1 (70%) | 1,5*1 (60%) | 1*1 (50%) | 1*1,5 (40%) | |||||
Kg | l | Kg | l | Kg | l | Kg | l | |
1 | 0,9 | 0,5 | 0,8 | 0,6 | 0,6 | 0,6 | 0,5 | 0,7 |
2 | 1,8 | 0,9 | 1,6 | 1,1 | 1,3 | 1,3 | 0,9 | 1,4 |
3 | 2,8 | 1,4 | 2,4 | 1,6 | 1,9 | 1,9 | 1,4 | 2,1 |
4 | 3,7 | 1,8 | 3,2 | 2,1 | 2,5 | 2,5 | 1,9 | 28 |
5 | 4,6 | 2,3 | 4,0 | 2,7 | 3,1 | 3,1 | 2,3 | 2,5 |
Thus, if 1 kg of granulated sugar is dissolved in 1 liter of water, the result will be 1.6 liters of the finished product in a 1: 1 ratio. For example, if you need to get 5 liters of feeding for bees and the required concentration is 50% (1 * 1), then the table immediately shows that you need to take 3.1 liters of water and the same amount of sugar.
How to make sugar bee syrup
Cooking technology is as follows:
- Take the required amount of granulated sugar, while it should be white. Reed and yellow are not allowed.
- Clean water is poured into a prepared deep container.
- Bring the water to a boil over low heat.
- After the water has boiled, sugar is added in small portions. Stirring constantly.
- The mixture is kept until the crystals dissolve.
- Burning can be prevented by not bringing it to a boil.
The finished mixture is cooled to + 35 ° C at room temperature, after which it is given to the bee colonies. The water should be soft. Hard water must be defended throughout the day.
How much syrup is needed for 1 bee family
As practice shows, the volume of sugar syrup obtained when feeding bees should not exceed 1 kg at the beginning of the winter period for each bee colony. By the end of winter, the consumption of finished products will increase, and monthly for each hive will go up to 1.3-1.5 kg. In the spring, when young offspring will be born, the amount of products consumed can double. This is due to the fact that there is still very little pollen and the weather does not allow to start collecting nectar.
How bees process sugar syrup
The processing is carried out by young insects that will go into the winter. Syrup, like nectar, is not a complete feed. As you know, syrup has a neutral reaction, and after processing it becomes acidic, and practically does not differ from nectar. The bees add a special enzyme - invertase, due to which the breakdown of sucrose is carried out.
What additives are needed in syrup for egg production of the uterus
To increase egg production, hive queens add pollen substitutes to the combs - protein feed. In addition, you can give:
- milk, in the ratio of 0.5 liters of product to 1.5 kg of sugar syrup. Such a product is given at 300-400 g per hive, gradually the dosage is increased to 500 g;
- as a stimulation of the growth of bee colonies, cobalt is used - 24 mg of the drug per 1 liter of finished feeding.
In addition, regular syrup, well prepared, will help to increase the amount of brood.
Shelf life of syrup for feeding bees
If necessary, if a large amount of subcortex has been cooked, it can be stored for a maximum of 10 to 12 days. To do this, use glass containers that are tightly closed. For storage, choose a room with a good ventilation system and a low temperature regime.
Despite this, many beekeepers strongly recommend using only freshly prepared supplements. In addition, it is important to consider that most bees do not take syrup if it is not prepared correctly.
Pepper syrup for bees
Bitter pepper is added to top dressing as a prophylaxis and treatment of varroatosis in insects. Insects respond well enough to this component. In addition, pepper helps to improve digestion. Hot peppers are not tolerated by ticks. You can prepare syrup for feeding bees with the addition of pepper according to the following recipe:
- Take fresh red hot pepper - 50 g.
- Cut into small pieces.
- Put in a thermos and pour 1 liter of boiling water.
- After that, let it brew for 24 hours.
- After a day, such a tincture can be added at the rate of 150 ml per 2.5 liters of top dressing.
This type of feeding is used in the fall to stimulate the queen of the hive, which begins to lay eggs. It also helps to get rid of ticks.
How to make vinegar sugar syrup for bees
Making vinegar syrup for bees is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. In this situation, as in everyone else, it is recommended to adhere to all recommendations and use the exact amount of required ingredients.
Sugar syrup is prepared using conventional technology. The ratio of granulated sugar and water can be found in the table above. It is recommended to use 80% vinegar essence. For every 5 kg of sugar, 0.5 tbsp. l. vinegar. After the sugar syrup is ready and it has cooled to + 35 ° C at room temperature, add 2 tbsp for 1 liter of finished product. l.vinegar and lay the top dressing in the hives.
How much vinegar to add to bee sugar syrup
As practice shows, winter feeding of bee colonies will be much more effective if you dilute the syrup for bees with honey, acetic acid, or add any other ingredients. With the addition of vinegar, beekeepers get an inverted syrup that the insects absorb and process much faster than a regular sugar-based mixture.
In order for the insects to endure the winter period better, a small amount of acetic acid is added to the finished top dressing. Such a composition allows the accumulation of fat reserves, as a result of which the amount of food consumed decreases and the brood increases.
For 10 kg of granulated sugar, it is recommended to add 4 ml of vinegar essence or 3 ml of acetic acid. It is necessary to add this ingredient to the syrup, which has cooled to + 40 ° C.
How much apple cider vinegar to add to bee syrup
All beekeepers know that syrup made from granulated sugar has a neutral reaction, but after insects transfer it to the honeycomb, it becomes acidic. It follows from this that for normal life and health of insects, the feed used must be acidic.
To facilitate the processing of feeding, beekeepers add apple cider vinegar to the bee syrup at a ratio of 4 g of apple cider vinegar to 10 kg of granulated sugar. As practice shows, bee colonies consume such syrup much better. It is important to take into account that the use of this type of food in the winter period of time significantly reduces the amount of death.
Brood from bee colonies consuming syrup with added apple cider vinegar will be almost 10% higher, unlike those insects that consumed regular sugar-based syrup without any additional additives.
How to cook garlic sugar bee syrup
Sugar syrup with the addition of garlic is really a drug that many beekeepers use in the treatment of bees. Thus, in the winter period, using such a top dressing, it is possible not only to give insects food, but also to cure them in the presence of diseases.
Some beekeepers use juice obtained from greens of garlic, the concentration of which is 20%, to prepare sugar syrup for bees. As a rule, a standard recipe is used to prepare the syrup, after which garlic juice is added to it, or 2 finely grated cloves are added to 0.5 liters of top dressing. For each family, it is necessary to give 100-150 g of the resulting composition. After 5 days, the feeding is repeated.
Bee syrup with citric acid
Typically, an inverted mixture is prepared using regular sugar syrup. A distinctive feature is the fact that sucrose is broken down into glucose and fructose. Thus, bees spend much less energy to process such feeding. The cleavage process is carried out by the addition of citric acid.
The simplest recipe for bee syrup with citric acid is to simply combine all the necessary ingredients.
Of the ingredients you will need:
- citric acid - 7 g;
- granulated sugar - 3.5 kg;
- water - 3 l.
The cooking process is as follows:
- Take a deep enamel pan.
- Water, sugar and citric acid are added.
- Put the pan on low heat.
- Bring to a boil, stir constantly.
- As soon as the future syrup has boiled, the fire is reduced to a minimum and boiled for 1 hour.
During this time, the sugar inversion process takes place. Top dressing can be given to insects after it has cooled down at room temperature to + 35 ° C.
How to make syrup for bees with pine needles
It is recommended to prepare an infusion of needles according to the following algorithm:
- Coniferous needles are finely chopped with scissors or a knife.
- Rinse thoroughly under running water.
- Transfer to a deep saucepan and pour water in the ratio: 4.5 liters of clean water per 1 kg of coniferous needles.
- After boiling, the infusion is boiled for about 1.5 hours.
The resulting infusion has a green color and a bitter taste. After cooking it must be drained and allowed to cool. This infusion is added 200 ml for each 1 liter of sugar syrup. In the spring, this type of feeding should be given to insects every other day, then every day for 9 days.
How to cook wormwood syrup for bees
The preparation of syrup for feeding bees with the addition of wormwood is used for prophylaxis against varroatosis and nosematosis. In this case, you will need to add bitter wormwood and pine buds collected from young shoots, the length of which does not exceed 4 cm, to the sugar syrup.
Wormwood must be prepared 2 times throughout the year:
- at the time of growing season;
- during the flowering period.
Pre-wormwood must be dried in a dark place, at a temperature of + 20 ° C. Store finished products in a dry and well-ventilated place for up to 2 years.
The process of preparing medicinal feeding is as follows:
- Take 1 liter of clean water and pour it into a deep enamel pot.
- 5 g of pine buds, 5 g of wormwood (harvested during the growing season) and 90 g of wormwood (harvested during the flowering period) are added to the pan.
- Cook for 2.5 hours.
- After the broth has cooled down at room temperature, it is filtered.
Such an infusion based on wormwood is added to the syrup and given to bee colonies.
Bee feeding schedule
Every beekeeper must adhere to a schedule for feeding the bees. As a rule, several empty frames should be placed in the center of the hive, on which the bees will later leave fresh honey. Gradually, insects will move to the sides, where the flowering honey is located.
Top dressing is carried out using several technologies, according to the goal:
- if it is required to grow a strong brood, then the feeding time must be stretched. To do this, the bee colony should receive syrup in a volume of 0.5 to 1 liter until the combs are completely filled;
- for regular feeding, it is enough to add about 3-4 liters of sugar syrup 1 time, which will fully satisfy all the needs of insects.
In addition, the wintering method must be taken into account. For example, if insects are in Omshanik in winter, then the amount of feeding should be reduced, since bees do not spend a lot of energy on heating bodies. The situation is different with hives, which remain outside in winter - they need adequate nutrition.
Only taking into account all these factors can you create the necessary schedule.
Conclusion
Bee syrup is an essential food for a swarm during the winter. This event should be carried out at the end of the honey collection and pumping out of the finished product. As a rule, beekeepers do not use natural products as top dressing, since there is a possibility of nosematosis. In addition, the sugar syrup is much more easily absorbed by the digestive system of insects and is a guarantee that the bees will spend the winter safely.
