candy board questions

[11x]

ok can some one tell me when and why to use them? and tell me how to make them? i have heard of using them and even making them with pollen substitute in them. i was told to just pour dry sugar on top of my inner cover but if candy board is better i want to do that.

[soupcan]

Used them for 30 plus years.
An old timer taughty me that this a great way to save an operation in the winter.
There is a bunch more to it than what you have been told!
But the bottom line is that they just plain work!!!!
So simple a cave could even do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[soupcan]

Sorry the dog bumped me.
A cave man could do it!!!!

[FordGuy]

slow down, soupcan, slow down! I feel like I'm drinking through a fire hose with all the information you are imparting from your 30 years!

[11x]

details please???? how do i make a good one and when do i put it in the hive, and where in the hive? please tell me more????

[NDnewbeek]

http://www.beesource.com/forums/show...ht=candy+frame

[devdog108]

i would like a better explanation as well. I mean, it makes sense to me, but is it easier on the bees for so than the mountaincamp method?

[Dave W]

A candy board, made somewhat like a top cover, is place on top of hive. It should contain a "candy" that is very hard, so it wont melt when TC is heated by the sun.
Some candy is soft, butter-like (technically called fondant, not candy).

A candy frame goes inside hive. Can be filled w/ either kind of candy.

Candy (both kinds) can be placed top bars too (no feeder needed).

Most think of candy feeding as an "emergency" method only. Something done in late winter/early spring in very cold weather, when feeding syrup would result in too much moisture being introduced into hive.

Some apply a candy board in fall and leave it overwinter, for "just in case".

The mountaincamp method utilizes dry sugar as both a feed AND a drying agent (dry sugar will soak up SOME moisture).

[ga.beeman]

can anyone tell how to mix this (what amount) if you want to use it as a lid for winter

[soupcan]

I have not made many in the past few years as my son has taken this chore over since dad passed away.
We cook up 2 to 3 hundred every year.
1-1/2" to 2" deep wooden rim, made the same od as as a bee box or slightly smaller.
Use some 1/4" plywood or 1/8" tempered hard board for the cover.
Use plenty of glue ( PL-400 ) & screw the corners together.
Start with 5 quarts of water & a 100# of sugar.
We cook ours over a propane burner.
Bring the water to a boil & start adding the sugar & it also will come to a boil when it is hot enough.
Be sure to stur the mix as it can burn if you don't mix the sugar & water regularly.
When the sugar starts to boil & is near done the end result will look like a startch/taffy mix.
Quickly poor the mix into your wooden rim & let cool.
A few hours later they can be put on the bees for winter feed.

[PCM]

Here is one form of candy board recipe, useing MeGaBee.
http://www.megabeediet.com/candy.html

If you ever made candy or fudge, it's just like that,,, BE prepared for continuses stiring, it will BURN quickly !!

PCM

[BEES4U]

Here's some "dated" 1986 information: M.S.U.
http://www.cyberbee.net/Archive/bplus/pdf/bplus3.pdf

CANDY BOARDS FOR WINTER FEED
During cold days of winter when the bees cannot move any great distance for honey, candy boards
placed over the upper combs have saved bees from starvation. Bees normally move upward during the
winter as the heat from the cluster allows this movement more readily than laterally. If the bees reach the
top of the hive before spring weather allows them to move or expand sideways they can starve with honey
on the outside frames. The use of candy boards will allow bees to survive this period when the temperature
is too cold for lateral movement. Thus these boards are in some sense a temporary measure, or to some
beekeepers as an "insurance" because they may have taken away too much honey, or have the colony
organized with the honey poorly placed. The boards can be placed on the colonies in just a few seconds
and thus save a colony that would otherwise die. The making of these candy boards is relatively easy, and
once the actual board is made the yearly operation of adding the sugar candy is routine. The board itself is
made with the same outside dimensions as the hive. The board looks like an inner cover without the hole,
and usually has somewhat higher sides to hold more sugar. We use 1/4 inch tempered or hardened particle
board with 3/4" side boards.
The formula for the candy is as follows:
15 lbs. sugar
3 lbs. white corn syrup
4 cups water
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
Dissolve the sugar in water and stir while heating the mixture to 240oF. Let the syrup cool to about
180o, then beat until thickened and pour into the board to harden. Once the candy is hard they can be put
onto the colonies, candy side down, over the top frames. Some beekeepers pour the candy into waxpaper
lined molds instead of making regular boards, and then put these molded blocks on top of the frames while
the inner cover is placed over them. The blocks must therefore be no thicker than the depth of the inner
cover rim. If the bees do not use the candy, the boards can be saved, or the sugar melted and used for
spring feeding as syrup.

Good luck,
Ernie

[BEES4U]

I like the addition of a pollen substitute to the candy board.

Cream of tarter has been eliminated by many bee keepers.
Thanks,
Ernie

[eqnox]

Has anyone done any research into feeding pollen with candy board and without? Bees seem to do a great job of keeping them separate in the hive, do they really want them mixed up on their dinner plate?

----
Sugar Candy
http://www.bluelineapiary.com/2011/0...andy-for-bees/

[David LaFerney]

I put some chunks of 4% megabee candy on my hives where they had already eaten a lot of the mt camp sugar, and when I looked in on them today they were pretty much all over the candy, and not on the sugar. I don't know if that's good or not, but they seem to like the candy with pollen substitute better than the plain sugar.

[kbfarms]

Here is a picture of our candyboards we've recently put on. I put the patties on separate as I think the hot candy temperature cannot be good for the patties, would think it would cook the protein and degrade it.







I'm a big believer in ventilation, so we add two ventilation holes to assist in ventilation. Plus the bees can go up, under and out if they need to. We have 3/8" slats on the other side to keep the outer cover from resting directly on the board.