Make a candy board for overwintering honey bees
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.ย. 2024
- This video shows how to make a candy board for overwintering bees and we also discuss the many additional benefits of a candy board, including absorbing condensation, allowing moisture to escape (as well as an upper entrance should the bottom become blocked), and additional food stores in the event the honey stores are depleted. The vinegar is just a mold inhibitor. I forgot to use it last year and had no problem. You mix it with the water before adding to the sugar.
UPDATE: We have since stopped adding pollen of any kind to the candy board. We determined we do not want to prematurely stimulate the queen to begin brood-rearing too early in the season. Doing so puts the cluster in danger should another cold-snap come along. Leave out the pollen... as it can be added into the void the bees make in the sugar when danger of frost is done.
See the bottom of this page for the recipe: www.indianahone... or search 'candy board' once on our website.
I use parchment paper that you can get from the grocery store. Sugar can't stick to it, it's food safe for the bees, and the paper comes in 15" rolls that fits perfectly into the candy board frames.
I use a sugar board with granulated sugar poured in on top of paper plates on top of the paper, and I also add another board on top of that with mosquito screen on the bottom of it filled with hamster bedding the recycled paper type for insulation and moisture absorption worked well last winter am going to do it again this year
Cut a piece of 1/4" plywood and lay it inside the bottom of the wood frame on a table. Then install your wire. Now you have a perfect gap between the frame tops and the candy. If you ever cook sugar with water and you want a softer product. Just add a few tablespoons white Kayro syrup.
Made mine today! Placing them on the hives tomorrow afternoon. With the warm weather, of the past few weeks I have been feeding syrup to my bees, however looks like winter will be here soon, so time to get things together!! Thanks for the Vid.
I just use some plastic food trays and set over the top of the frames, and pour dry sugar into the tray where they wont kick it out on the comb and down to the bottom board, another plus is they like to ball up under the tray and the dry sugar sucks moisture out of the hive.
+426 SUPER BEE That'll work too... just make sure you have your ventilation in check and watch for possible condensation building up on the bottom of the tray. Anything that collects and drips back down on to the cluster spells doooom! Take care!
Jason Morgan
Very true, so far the trays are to thick to make moisture
@ferretzrus See the URL I have in the description of the video (you may need to expand the description) It will take you to our page that has the detailed recipe and method. Put your candy board on as late as possible (Late November) if you put it on when it's still too warm, the bees will get in to it and start eating it. You want this on it during the cold times while you are not getting into the hive. Pollen, we make a pocket in the candy and keep separate. Bees want this late Jan/early Feb
@bigcity1974 Yes they do. No problems there. Thanks for pointing that out.
long term best bet for everyone would be to feed bees what bees eat, and that is honey. the sugar continues to be just one of the 6 or so primary stressors that bees deal with. this means that commercial bee raising will not be the business it has been, but must re-invent itself as an orchard "house-call" business model. Nature continues to make the case for that point of view, not me. And last year was nearly the end for almonds without an on-site, adaptive approach.
@robertcart No smaller than 1/4" - So the bees can get through OK. What you see in the video is 1/4" and that's what most of us used last year. However, I'm making mine this year with 3/8". Since you line the screen with paper anyway, it will all stay up there and give plenty of room for the bees to pass through. I use the paper that comes between new foundation. It's perfect for this.
what size is the screen?
@tradernorton05 - Of course honey is better, but sometimes there's no option. There's several reasons you might use a candy board. In the case of new packages, the bees may not have built up enough honey stores the first year. I had two packages and didn't take any honey off either one... and while there is one medium super decently packed, why not make sure? Also, it absorbs a fair amount of moisture that otherwise may be condensation on top that could drop back down on to the cluster.
@jameswolffff Yeah... the vinegar is just a mold inhibitor. I forgot to use it last year and had no problem. You mix it with the water before adding to the sugar.
@jameswolffff Yes, that is a classic scenario you describe there. The candy board is excellent for that... as well as the fact that is sucks up a TON of moisture/condensation into the sugar and that will keep it from dropping back down on the cluster. Come spring... just melt the unused part of the candy board down for your 1:1 sugar water. Everyone in my club, even the old-timers think these boards are great. Good luck.
What gauge of wire is that? Can the bees get through it?
+Dan Bennett - For some reason TH-cam wouldn't allow me to reply directly to your comment below. Hoping you get this. Do not use wax paper... as it will in fact trap moisture and not allow it to be absorbed by the sugar above. You can use newspaper, or even tissue paper. We found that the tissue paper that separates foundation when you buy it from the supply works well too.
Jason Morga
@Scott1844 Yeah, I personally just used the black and white newspaper. Avoid the shiny clay paper. The guys in the bee club (in the video) were using the pieces of tissue-like paper that come when you buy sheets of foundation. It's perfect, it's sheer and smells of beeswax and is most likely OK for the bees. Again, I used regular newspaper.
Is it like tissue paper quality?
@@sunrisehollowfarm That can work. I'd avoid papers with dyes in them.
Oh, and what is that white paper you are lining the board with? It that linen?
Hey Jason, when is the best time to add a Candy Board to your hive? Should it bee when it starts getting below 50 degress and when you wrap your hive up? Or sooner?
Can you elaborate on the paper you use on the bottom of the sugar? Is it wax paper or parchment paper used for baking? I've laid newspaper on top of the frames before and place granular sugar on it. Maybe same idea but this candy board might be easier to remove.
i only take what honey i need which is not much... i'll take capped frames of honey out, wrap in plastic wrap and put in the freezer, then bring to room temp and put those in the hive over the winter..
That is an excellent plan. Of course honey is always more ideal than sugar. Great work!
I read that vinegar is seriously bad for bees and will kill them. Why would you add it into their food...? I have seen this a couple times and know it is a small amount but unless you mix really really well there is a real risk there will be a pocket of vinegar in there and once the bees hit it, it will be bad news. Yes/No...?
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is the sugar cake supposed to be hard as a rock when your done. I did make one and followed your instructions. The resulting sugar "cake" was like a rock the next day. im afraid the bees will chip a "tooth" trying to eat it. lol
+john balogna It's perfect. Yes, it should be hard. Do not worry. The bees make enough condensation in the hive to dissolve it. That sugar will absorb a lot of moisture over the winter. When they eat a hole through the paper, you do not want the sugar to sift through... so a hard block of sugar is what you want.
Ok thanks just making sure I didn't mess something up as this is my first year as a Bee watcher. if they get through the winter alive them i'm a bee keeper lol I also added some spearmint oil to help them find in more attractive
+john balogna That's fine. Keep in mind... the board is food reserves. Ideally, your hive has enough honey on it for winter stores.... but if they run out, this is an emergency food supply. It also does great at absorbing moisture, and the hole in the side of the candy board acts as a top entrance, and vent hole. Make sugar blocks and have them ready to chuck in the void where they have been eating the sugar (when you look under the lid in late winter). Replenish as necessary. You can also place a pollen patty in there after danger of frost passes.
+john balogna As soon as it's warm enough... the candy board should come off (because they will start building comb up in there if you leave them on too long). You can put a hive top feeder on if you are helping their spring build-up.
I was doing a liquid 3/1 mix earlier in the year along with adding a pollen patty to help them build up as this was a new NUC in May they have pleanty of "sugar Honey" I just did the candy board as insurance. . I was just worried about the amount of moisture they would have to evaporate in the winter so the sugar cake seemed like a better idea for the winter. I live in VA so most likely by the end of Feb or Mid March. I will be pulling the feeder and adding back the pollen patties along with the sugar syrup till they no longer take it. Hoping to split this hive in the spring ( if it makes it through the winter)
Hi great information. Are the bees able to go through the hardware wire on the candy board feeder?
Yes, they are and it's particularly important to use 3/8" or 1/2" hardware cloth and never 1/4"
@@allmorgan thank you for your reply.
please help your my giving your bee some molasses cane sugar in the mix i find it help the bee out alot when feeding, it has all B vitamin B complex which is good for the bee just a ider for you to thing about you can use it in a syrup bee feed just hope all beekeepers have Good luck and happy-ness from the hobby that they like.
have anyone tried everything same but without water?
Jason, would waxpaper work, if not where do you get the paper you reference in the video?
You can get parchment paper at walmart, $store. Its by the plastic wrap, sandwich bags etc.
i like your vid it going help me lot's
prep. not to disturb by matin
Why not use "wax paper" found in the grocery store?
+Steven Shields Sorry for the delay in response... Do not use wax paper... as it will in fact trap moisture and not allow it to be absorbed by the sugar above. You can use newspaper, or even tissue paper. We found that the tissue paper that separates foundation when you buy it from the supply works well too.
would parchment paper work? I bake bread on it and it seems to absorb moisture.
Likely... just make sure that it's not wax paper. Also, the easier the bees can tear/chew through it, the better. I often layer in the tissue paper that comes in between each piece of foundation when you buy it.
What paper did you say you use and where did you get it? Thanks!!
Yes. Parchment paper works great and it comes in 15" rolls from the grocery store. So, it lays perfectly into the candy board frame.
to much background noise
I have just noticed both of my hives now have sugar granules at the entrance and on the outside on the bottom board, and now reading DO NOT use wax paper because the moisture will be blocked and not absorbed into the sugar board, must be my problem because I did. Does any one know what issue my bees are having as the sugar spills down on them / cluster??
+utubeqwert If they have already eaten through the wax paper... then that will let the moisture up through to the sugar (which is a good thing). As for the granules being all over. This can happen. When you added the sugar, did you moisten it so that it hardens into a brick? Basically, the paper keeps it from falling down through until it can harden. Still, the bees can be messy with it and I would not sweat that. In the spring, I find granules in the cells too. They'll eat it all out when there's no other nectar flow.
+utubeqwert We avoid wax paper because it seems it would not allow moisture to get through, and instead trap it on the underside and possibly allow it to drop back on the cluster. That's bad. Did you still keep a hole in the top of the sugar along with a hole through the side to allow moisture to escape?
+Jason Morgan Yes I constructed with hardware wire, wax paper (oops), added water and let set. 3" hole in center, no hole in housing because of ants. Cedar blaket just above with vent collar with 2 screened 1" holes front and backand and now rear shimmed outer lid. Added the shims last week due to moisture under cover, which has now been eliminated.
If you want to make your own woodworking yourself just look for woodprix website. There is all you need to make it :)
ohh my...that's a lot of suger .
This was a very good video, but too much jabbering! I wanted to hear every word!!
Solo les dan porquerías a las abejas es penoso.
De acuerdo, Ramón. Esto es de emergencia en caso de que se delpleted sus reservas de miel. No puede ser un apicultor con abejas muertas.