How to make syrup for bees

As a rule, bees endure the winter period the hardest, which is why they need increased nutrition, which will allow the insects to gain the necessary amount of energy to warm their bodies. Almost all beekeepers at such moments use syrup for bees, which is quite healthy and nutritious. The effectiveness of such feeding depends entirely on proper preparation and concentration.

How to make sugar syrup for bees

For preparation it is allowed to use only high-quality ingredients. The water must be clean and free from impurities. It is best to give preference to distilled water.Granulated sugar is of high quality; it is not recommended to use refined sugar.

During the preparation process, it is equally important to maintain the proportions of sugar syrup for bees. In this case, you can use the table. If the technology is not followed, the bees will refuse feeding.

Many experienced beekeepers recommend adding a small amount of vinegar to create and maintain an acidic environment. In addition, a sugar product with the addition of vinegar allows insects to accumulate fat mass and significantly increases the amount of brood produced.

It is also important to consider that the fertilizing should not be too thick. This is due to the fact that the bees will spend a large amount of time processing the liquid into a suitable state, as a result of which a lot of moisture will be consumed. Liquid fertilizers are also not recommended, as the digestion process will be long and can lead to the death of the entire family.

Table for preparing sugar syrup for feeding bees

Before you begin, it is recommended that you first familiarize yourself with the table of syrup for feeding bees.

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 1:1 proportions. For example, if you need to get 5 liters of bee feed 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 syrup for bees from sugar

The cooking technology is as follows:

1. Take the required amount of granulated sugar, and it should be white. Reed and yellow are not allowed.
2. Pour clean water into a prepared deep container.
3. Bring the water to a boil over low heat.
4. After the water has boiled, begin to introduce granulated sugar in small portions. Stirring constantly.
5. The mixture is kept until the crystals dissolve.
6. You can prevent burning by not bringing it to a boil.

The finished mixture is cooled to +35°C at room temperature, after which it is given to bee colonies. The water should be soft. Hard water must be left to stand for 24 hours.

How much syrup is needed for 1 bee colony?

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 each hive will consume up to 1.3-1.5 kg monthly. In the spring, when young offspring are 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 starting to collect nectar.

How do bees process sugar syrup?

Processing is carried out by young insects that will go into winter. Syrup, like nectar, is not a complete food. As you know, syrup has a neutral reaction, and after processing it becomes sour, and is practically no different from nectar.Bees add a special enzyme, invertase, which breaks down sucrose.

What additives are needed in the syrup for egg production of the uterus?

To increase egg production, the 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 per 1.5 kg of sugar syrup. This product is given at 300-400 g per hive, gradually increasing the dosage to 500 g;
• To stimulate the growth of bee colonies, cobalt is used - 24 mg of the drug per 1 liter of ready-made feeding.

In addition, high-quality regular syrup will help increase the number of broods.

Shelf life of syrup for feeding bees

If necessary, if a large amount of subcortex has been prepared, it can be stored for a maximum period of 10 to 12 days. To do this, use glass containers that close tightly. For storage, choose a room with a good ventilation system and low temperature conditions.

Despite this, many beekeepers strongly recommend using exclusively freshly prepared fertilizers. In addition, it is important to consider that most bees will not take syrup if it is not prepared correctly.

Pepper syrup for bees

Hot pepper is added to fertilizing as a prevention and treatment of varroatosis in insects. Insects respond quite well to this component. In addition, pepper helps 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:

1. Take fresh red hot pepper - 50 g.
2. Cut into small pieces.
3. Place in a thermos and pour 1 liter of boiling water.
4. After this, let it brew for 24 hours.
5. After a day, this tincture can be added at the rate of 150 ml per 2.5 liters of fertilizer.

This type of feeding is used in the fall to stimulate the queen of the hive, who begins to lay eggs. In addition, this way you can get rid of ticks.

How to make sugar syrup for bees with vinegar

Making syrup for bees with vinegar is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. In this situation, as in all others, it is recommended to follow 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 seen in the table above. It is recommended to use 80% vinegar essence. For every 5 kg of sugar it takes 0.5 tbsp. l. vinegar. After the sugar syrup is ready and it has cooled to +35°C at room temperature, add 2 tbsp per 1 liter of finished product. l. vinegar and add fertilizer to the hives.

How much vinegar to add to sugar syrup for bees

As practice shows, winter feeding of bee colonies will be much more effective if you dilute bee syrup with honey, acetic acid, or add any other ingredients. By adding vinegar, beekeepers receive an inverted syrup that insects absorb and process much faster than a conventional sugar-based mixture.

In order for insects to survive the winter better, a small amount of acetic acid is added to the prepared fertilizer. This composition allows fat reserves to accumulate, resulting in a decrease in the amount of food consumed and an increase in brood.

For 10 kg of granulated sugar, it is recommended to add 4 ml of vinegar essence or 3 ml of acetic acid.This ingredient must be added 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 the normal functioning and health of insects, the food used must be acidic.

To facilitate the processing of fertilizer, beekeepers add apple cider vinegar to syrup for bees in the ratio: 4 g of apple cider vinegar per 10 kg of granulated sugar. As practice shows, bee colonies consume this syrup much better. It is important to take into account that the use of this type of nutrition in winter significantly reduces the amount of death.

The brood from bee colonies that consume syrup with the addition of apple cider vinegar will be almost 10% higher, in contrast to those insects that consumed regular sugar-based syrup without any additional additives.

How to make sugar syrup for bees with garlic

Sugar syrup with the addition of garlic is truly a medicinal product that many beekeepers use in the process of treating bees. Thus, in the winter, using such fertilizing, you can not only provide insects with nutrition, but also cure them if they have diseases.

Some beekeepers use juice obtained from garlic greens, the concentration of which is 20%, to prepare sugar syrup for bees.As a rule, a standard recipe is used to prepare syrup, after which garlic juice is added to it, or 2 cloves, finely grated, are added to 0.5 liters of fertilizer. Each family should be given 100-150 g of the resulting composition. After 5 days, feeding is repeated.

Syrup for bees with citric acid

Typically, the invert mixture is prepared using regular sugar syrup. A distinctive feature is the fact that sucrose is broken down into glucose and fructose. Thus, the bees spend much less effort to process such feeding. The splitting process is carried out by adding citric acid.

The simplest recipe for syrup for bees with the addition of citric acid consists of simply combining all the necessary ingredients.

Ingredients you will need:

• citric acid – 7 g;
• granulated sugar – 3.5 kg;
• water – 3 l.

The cooking process is as follows:

1. Take a deep enamel pan.
2. Add water, sugar and citric acid.
3. Place the pan on low heat.
4. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
5. As soon as the future syrup boils, reduce the heat to low and cook for 1 hour.

During this time, the process of sugar inversion occurs. Feeding can be given to insects after it has cooled at room temperature to +35°C.

How to make syrup for bees with pine needles

It is recommended to prepare the pine needle infusion according to the following algorithm:

1. Conifer needles are finely chopped with scissors or a knife.
2. Rinse thoroughly under running water.
3. Transfer to a deep saucepan and fill with water in the ratio: 4.5 liters of clean water per 1 kg of pine needles.
4. 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 strained and allowed to cool. This infusion is added 200 ml for every 1 liter of sugar syrup. In spring, this type of feeding should be given to insects every other day, then daily for 9 days.

How to make syrup for bees with wormwood

Syrup for feeding bees with the addition of wormwood is prepared for prevention against varroatosis and nosematosis. In this case, you will need to add 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:

• during the growing season;
• during the flowering period.

The wormwood must first be dried in a dark place at a temperature of +20°C. The finished product should be stored in a dry and well-ventilated place for up to 2 years.

The process of preparing medicinal feeding is as follows:

1. Take 1 liter of clean water and pour it into a deep enamel pan.
2. 5 g of pine buds, 5 g of wormwood (collected during the growing season) and 90 g of wormwood (collected during the flowering period) are added to the pan.
3. Cook for 2.5 hours.
4. After the broth has cooled at room temperature, it is filtered.

This wormwood-based infusion is added to syrup and given to bee colonies.

Bee feeding schedule

Every beekeeper must adhere to a schedule according to which the bees will receive feeding. As a rule, it is necessary to place several empty frames in the center of the hive, on which the bees will subsequently leave fresh honey. Gradually, the insects will move to the sides, where the flower honey is located.

Fertilizing is carried out using several technologies, according to the purpose:

• if it is necessary to grow strong brood, then the feeding time must be extended. To do this, the bee colony should receive syrup in a volume of 0.5 to 1 liter until the honeycombs are completely filled;
• For regular feeding, it is enough to add about 3-4 liters of sugar syrup once, which will fully meet all the needs of the insects.

In addition, you must take into account the wintering method. For example, if insects are in a grassland in winter, then the amount of feeding should be reduced, since the bees do not spend much effort on heating their bodies. The situation is different with hives that remain outside in winter - they need adequate nutrition.

Only by taking into account all these factors can you create the necessary schedule.

Conclusion

Syrup for bees is a necessary type of feeding for a swarm during the winter. This event should be carried out after the honey collection and pumping out of the finished product. As a rule, beekeepers do not use natural products as feeding, as there is a possibility of nosematosis. In addition, sugar syrup is much more easily absorbed by the digestive system of insects and is a guarantee that the bees will survive the winter safely.

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