Beesource Beekeeping Forums banner

Feeding candy boards or cooked sugar bricks in winter

8K views 26 replies 17 participants last post by  philip.devos 
#1 ·
OK...now I am confused. After searching this forum and posting questions I felt quite comfortable making solid sugar bricks in preparation for winter. I have made about 20 solid candy bricks by combining 5lb sugar with just over a cup of water and heated it to 240-245F without any caramelization. I then poured it in an aluminum cake pan to cool. White, solid 5 lb sugar brick.

Today I was at a local bee supply and hive care education shop. The owner operator has a Master Beekeeper Certificate displayed on the wall and she states she has been keeping hives locally for 7 years. She runs beekeeping courses, does one on one hive care and inspection, education and extracts honey for folks who don't want to extract their own honey.

She doesn't feed over the winter. She wraps her hives in tar paper and says good night. I mentioned that I had made up some sugar bricks. She looks horrified and tells me I will kill my bees if I feed it to them over winter! She was going on and on about not boiling sugar syrup...apparently it changes he chemistry of the sugar and kills bees. I must admit I do not boil my 1:1 or 2:1 sugar syrup when I make it up. The sugar bricks I made have no caramelized sugar...just translucent clear syrup that is liquid and hardens when cooled.

Have I misunderstood several people who kindly shared their tried and true sugar brick recipes (not whipped up like fondant...just poured from the pot)? Is this certified beekeeper instructor two sheets to the wind?

Clarification would be appreciated...I am reluctant to cook up more until I hear back from folks on this list.

Thanks
 
See less See more
#3 · (Edited)
I don't know everything and I have an Associate of Applied Sciences Degree in Commercial Beekeeping from Ohio State University. Neither does someone w/ a Master Beekeepers Certificate.

Did she explain what is wrong w/ boiling sugar syrup? Michael Bush should be able to tell you. Ask him or wait for him to reply here.

If you put these sugar bricks on your hives they will not kill your bees.
 
#7 ·
Radar - I have some rug rats that might want to agree to sqkcrk that sugar bricks are the secret of eternal life (or at least their short term eternal happiness.).

sqkcrk - Some folks think that doing so might make them lazy. - :no: -:eek:

don't kick that poor dog again or :ws:
 
#9 ·
Yes...for a while I read the lazy bee thread.
Currently I have come away with the impression that bee preferences seem to be: honey...be it robbed from hives or taken as offered feed, nectar/pollen from preferred vegetation, sugar products if there is nothing better.
There is soooo much to learn about the productive husbandry of bees!
 
#10 ·
Beware the advice of someone with a modest experience history and a piece of paper when they are in the business of selling you bees to replace those that might starve for want of said brick. I value advice from humble old hands that don't have a dog in the hunt.
 
#11 ·
I am pretty sure the bricks are going to do no harm if not caramalized, however it did waste a lot of time and energy when you could have just dumped the 5 pound bag of sugar on top of some newspaper on the top bars and walked away. The condensation from the bees will turn the sugar into a "brick" in farily short order. I subscribe to the MB school of lazt beekeeping.....maybe it is from all the sugar I eat?
 
#12 ·
For a master beekeeper certification to bear any weight, it must be from some sort of verifiable source. If someone claims to have a master beekeeping from the Eastern Apicultural Society, it can be easily researched and verified on their web site. If it is from Fred's beekeeping school it don't mean a hill of bean.

I do not feed every hive every year. but when necessary they get sugar bricks, or fondant. never killed my bees by eating it.
 
#15 ·
For a master beekeeper certification to bear any weight, it must be from some sort of verifiable source...
It was from the government...department of agriculture. I agree that hands on experience develops huge knowledge...if one is curious, interested and thinks about cause and effect. Time alone doesn't cut it:)

Personally I am quite skeptical..4 hives, 7 years, a certificate and one of 2 hive component/hive management businesses in a very large area. Yet a very pleasant business person.

I am glad I found this forum.
 
#13 ·
Caramelized sugar is indeed bad for bees, but just boiling it to make bricks isn't going to do the job, you have to boil all the water out and cook it until it turns brown. I don't think you did that.

However, I endorse the idea of just mixing a small amount of water in the sugar and letting it sit in a mold -- it will harden up just fine.

Honey is much better for the bees, second choice is syrup processed by the bees (more water, proper condition to stay liquid, etc), but sugar works just fine either as candy or as syrup poured into comb, or dry.

I prefer to feed my bees up to weight and leave the hive closed over the winter, it cannot be good for them to have an icy wind howling through the hive when you open it, but if the hive is light going into winter and you cannot feed them, by all means put the candy on.

Feeding them sugar is MUCH better than letting them starve in January!

Peter
 
#16 ·
I do have 2 frame feeders but was told by locals...in the bee supply shops...that feeding syrup over winter has 3 significant issues.

Bees don't take it if weather is less than 50f...and we sit at or under that for several months.
The liquid feed contributes to humidity and condensation in the hive
The bees won't move to the frame feeder to access the syrup

And..they said the container of liquid syrup remains cool so increases bee effort re hive warming.

Are those points valid or not?

Our fall and winters are wet, mainly in the 40-50f range days, drops down to freezing over night with a couple of cold weeks below freezing plus snow.

It seems some in this area wrap hives...some with tar paper, some with rigid foam insulation and tar paper, some with something called pool wrap (I think it is like heavy duty bubble wrap) yet others, including commercial beeks, just lay tarps over the hives being certain to provide upper and lower holes for ventilation.

Somehow I think the commercial folks would be doing the least to get the most consistent result. After all it is their livelihood not a hobby to fill in down time:)
 
#18 ·
Vancouver has wet, cold weather that only occasionally dips well below freezing. Ventilation is a major concern, as you often have condensing conditions.

Feeding liquid over the winter is asking for a wet hive full of mold, I would NOT under any circumstances put a division board feeder in there. Still best to have adequate stores in October -- use a hivetop feeder to get them up to weight if necessary -- and dry sugar or sugar bricks if and ONLY if they do not have adequate stores. The bees will be far more active there than here (southern Indiana) due to the higher winter temps, so they won't have any trouble accessing the sugar if they need it, and you have the added advantage that the sugar will absorb moisture in the hive. The bees will readily eat the syrup that forms on the sugar!

Make sure you have a completely waterproof top cover and no leaks into the hive. Cold water dripping on the cluster will kill the bees.

Peter
 
#19 ·
I have fed the sugar bricks for the last couple of years, as insurance. Just to be sure my bees have enough. Sometimes I put some pollen sub in with the batch, before pouring into the molds. I haven't seen any ill effects. Like you said mine is also clear before I put the pollen sub in. While we don't have a whole lot of cold weather here, I like the blocks because there r a lot of days under 50 degrees. What I like best about the blocks, is they are removable. I have not seen many of the pieces fall down into the hive. You want to inspect its not messy to move them. I leave 9 frames of honey on for them to eat in a super and remove one frame and put in a brick just. I haven't tried the pouring sugar in (mountain camp method).
 
#20 ·
I use sugar bricks - no problems here. I add pollen sub to them as they cool too. I prefer the bricks to candy boards or dry sugar. Dry sugar is a mess to clean in Spring.

The good thing about feeding them sugar bricks is that the bees have to chew and lick them - thereby making them work and preventing laziness ;)
 
#22 ·
Candy
Mix 4 lbs sugar with 2 cups of water and 1 tblspoon of apple cider vinegar. Bring to boil at around 220-238 degrees (soft ball). When boiling, stir continuously. Mixture will get milky and foam up, then will turn clear and foam will stop when it reaches the candy point. (If mixture turns brown, throw it out!) Remove from heat and stir in 1-2 cups pollen substitute and lemongrass oil (10 drops). Mix with blender until white and creamy. Pour into mold. Makes two large bricks. Caution -Burned sugar will kill bees!
 
#27 ·
I used to make "soft-ball" candy, but being lazy I started mixing as much sugar into 1 cup of water as I could, and have all wet sugar. About 8-10 cups of sugar will go into one cup of water. I also add 1 TBSP of apple cider vinegar. This winter I will put this stuff into a 2-1/2 inch deep frame (1X3 at home depot) with 1/2 inch hardware cloth on the bottom with a piece of paper towel to put the sugar on. Set that in a cool dry place for 2-3 days, and it will be a brick. I will also add a pollen patty or 2 with the sugar. The bees will chew through the paper towel and get to the sugar and patty.

As far as making the bees lazy, I have found that in a dearth the bees do get "lazy".

Phil
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top