Sugar Syrup Receipe

[Chris L]

OK i have read on here that some of you use 2:1 or 1:1.
First what is best,
Second, can someone give me how many pounds of sugar i would put in a gallon of H2O
Thanks
Chris

[AstroBee]

I've been using a 1:1 ratio (by volume!!) for spring feeding and a 2:1 ratio (sugar to water) for fall feeding. I'm sure that I've seen posts on this subject more than once, so you may want to do a search to track down a full discussion of spring/fall feeding ratios. Best of luck.

[Michael Bush]

What's "best" depends on what outcome you hope to accomplish. If you are trying to give the bees sustanence you want heavier syrup. If you want to stimulate brood rearing you want thinner syrup. They have less work to do with the heavier syrup to get it put away, but the thin syrup is closer to what nectar is like.

[clintonbemrose]

I have always used 1 gallon of water to 8 pounds of sugar for spring and doubled the sugar if feeding in the fall was needed
Clint

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Clinton Bemrose
just South of Lansing Michigan

[dragonfly]

Well, I kinda made this observation by screwing up and not paying attention- yesterday, I decided to mix up some spring feeding syrup, and wasn't paying much attention. I mixed it 2:1 (2 parts water to 1 part sugar). I noticed the bees are taking it like crazy, I need to go and refill the feeders already. I think I read somewhere that nectar from flowers is generally about 25% sugar, so this would make my feeding solution much closer to "natural" sugar content. What affect does diluted sugar water have on the bees? As a side note, I had added a super to one of the hives that is getting really crowded, so the reason for supplemental feeding is to try and get the bees working the foundation.

[Michael Bush]

I've nothing against recipes but I have to admit I don't measure very carefully. I tend to use hot tap water and as much sugar as it will disolve when I'm just trying to supplement. The bees aren't picky. They just like sugar any way they can get it. I tend to make it pretty weak when trying to stimulate. I think 25% sugar by weight sounds about right for stimulation. If you put a pound of sugar in three pints of water you'd have that. I tend to mix only as much as I need to fill the feeders so it's warm. They take warm syrup much better especially on cold mornings. You don't want it boiling, but if you can stick your finger in it and not burn yourself it's cool enough. Of course if you're topping it off, boiling might be better to warm up the cold syrup left in the feeder.

[AstroBee]

Interesting thought about the warm syrup. I have always waited to get the syrup to near ambient temperature before I gave it to the bees. My rational was that I didn't want to shock the bees. I have a history of working with tropical fish and changing their temps rapidly causes undo shock - I guess that's not an issue with bees. I enjoy a good hot cup of coffee on a cold morning too.

[Eich]

I'm feeding my nuc's in the spring and they have to make comb because all I have is foundation. Which ratio should I use? Darrell

[Michael Bush]

Officially, I suppose 2:1 sugarater by volume. That's two cups of sugar to a cup of water. Or two gallon pitchers of sugar to a gallon picher of water. The problem is it requires boiling the syrup to get that much sugar to dissolve and then cooling it enough that the bees don't get burned.

I just fill a container with hot tap water and add sugar until some won't dissolve when I stir it and feed it to them right then, still hot. The sugar cools it down to not hot enough to burn. I learned a long time ago that the bees don't care about recipes.

I also like using honey for feed. Especially if I've got some that I extracted from brood chambers and I don't want to sell it. I feed it straight and not watered down.

The only think I don't like honey for (in terms of bee food) is stimulation. This requires sucrose in a watered down form.

[mark williams]

1:1 sugar mixture is for brood rearing , so the bees need a place for the queen to lay,& that will make them draw wax,Quicker.I think ? also for a small amount 1lb of sugar to 1 pint of water is 1: 1, mark

[Michael Bush]

A pound of sugar to a pint of water is 1:1 by weight. And it will work fine, but most 1:1 and 1:2 references are by volume.

[Pete0]

A coffe can (2-1/2#?) holds 5# of sugar. Maybe less than 1/4 inch from the rim. I use it to measure my water. Boil the water in a pot that will hold more than 2-1/2 gals of liquid, turn off the fire, add 5# of sugar, stir and let cool. Makes about 2-1/4 gallons of 1 to 1 syrup. Other than that like already stated: 1# = 1 pint, 2# = 1 quart, if your using mason jars for measures.