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Candy board,anytime or ?

2K views 5 replies 6 participants last post by  Purdune 
#1 ·
Should I wait till the bees are close to the top to apply a candy board, or as soon as I have time to do it.? They have plenty of reserves now but we know how fast that can change. Ill. 12-4-10. snow on the ground , temp. 30.P.S. Everyone have a great holiday.
 
#4 ·
I was always taught not to feed unless the bees need it. In this case it means not putting a candy board on until the bees have eaten through their stores and will starve unless I intervene. Some will say putting a candy board on now is cheap insurance. If you only have a hive or two, I see your point, but I have thirty, and am not willing to mess with 30 candy boards for insurance purposes. I made it a point to feed colonies in the fall to get them up to adequate winter weight so they can make it through the winter without candy. I will do inspections in February to see if any *need* the extra feed. If any have already strarved by then, bad me, I didn't get them up to weight as I should have.
 
#6 ·
Howdy,
Is "rock candy" ok to use? I had some 2:1 sugar water in storage I forgot about for a month. Got it out and had huge sugar "rock candy" crystals covering the bottom. Got me thinking about putting it on the top of the frames for winter. Seems like it's near the same as "candy boards". Thoughts?
 
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