"SugarBags" feeding sugar from the bag.

[BeeCurious]

I have prepared 10 pound bags of sugar by soaking them in about one cup of water and allowing them to harden.


To fit in a 5-frame nuc box I cut the opening in the side.


A piece of wax paper or plastic wrap is used to hold the sugar in the bag while inverting the bag into a baking pan/dish.




A cup of water is enough to saturate the bottom inch or so of the sugar.


Allow several days for them to dry.

Like fondant, I place the bag directly over the openings in the inner covers. The hardened layer of sugar prevents the rest from cascading into the hive.


A hive body is used to house the bag of sugar.


Here is one that had been worked on by the bees...


I generally do not break the inner covers loose until the first warm days of February or March. The sugar bags may be an economical alternative to fondant, and like fondant (over the inner cover), there's no need to open the hive in winter.

[sqkcrk]

BC, I know you have more time than I, but you can skip all the above steps and just put the bag of sugar right on the top bars. The bees will chew thru the paper and eat.

[BeeCurious]

BC, I know you have more time than I, but you can skip all the above steps and just put the bag of sugar right on the top bars. The bees will chew thru the paper and eat.

I don't remove the inner covers... and the bees don't need to chew paper.

[sqkcrk]

My point is, that if you did remove the inner cover and didn't wet the sugar, the bees ould still be able to get to the sugar. What happens if the colony is clustered to one side of the hive so it can't easily get to the handhold in the inner cover.

Whatever works for you, keep doing it. I was just mentioning an alternative. That's all.

[BeeCurious]

I was just mentioning an alternative.

Gee, I thought I was the one offering an alternative....

[sqkcrk]

Gee, I thought I was the one offering an alternative....

I was offering an alternative to your alternative, which is an alternative to Mountain Camp's alternative to the alternative I first learned before I ever knew about beesource.

[krad1964]

Does all of the sugar in the bag harden or only the one side?

[BeeCurious]

Does all of the sugar in the bag harden or only the one side?

Just the bottom. I believe that some moisture will help to maintain the "ceiling" intact.

[Acebird]

I place the bag directly over the openings in the inner covers. The hardened layer of sugar prevents the rest from cascading into the hive.

Does the rest of the bag get hard over time? If the bees eat through the harden layer the sugar above would fall through the hole in the cover. Maybe there is enough moisture in the hive keeping it intact.