[AlanInNJ]

2nd year beekeeper here in central NJ with three hives. Right now all three are running 2 x 10 frame deeps. All three upper deeps are about 80-90% full of capped honey. The lowers have a bit of eggs/larva/brood left, but mostly open frames. I have tested and treated for mites, and all three colonies seem to have very healthy populations and are queenright. I am pretty sure the goldenrod flow is done, although I am still seeing a few bees on the goldenrod in my fields.

So my question - I feel like I should feed 2:1 just to maintain the colonies stores so they don't burn thru them while it's still warm, they are still flying, but there are no real resources available to them. Does this sound logical? What's the best way to feed in this situation?

 

[Fivej]

Not sure about your area, but I would want them to have a lot more stores if they were where I live. It's getting late in the season so I would feed them with 2:1 in paint cans to make them take it quick. I know its warmer where you are but keep in mind that they still have to dry it before the cold weather. Maybe someone in your area will chime in. How much did you have last year? J

 

[AlanInNJ]

Last year I wintered over my single hive (at that time) with one deep that was about 75% full, mostly of syrup. I did feed patties starting in February though.

What if I feed 2:1 and they run out of room in the top deep? That's my concern. And I have very little extra drawn comb, so putting another box on will probably not help, right?

 

[Mike Gillmore]

All three upper deeps are about 80-90% full of capped honey. The lowers have a bit of eggs/larva/brood left, but mostly open frames.

Sounds like you are in pretty good shape with your hives. How many frames in the bottom box have honey stores, and how many are empty frames? That will determine if you need to continue feeding or not. You want them to be well stocked, but be sure to leave them with at least a few empty drawn frames.

Don't plan on adding another box until spring next year. It's too late in the season in our regions to expect them to draw out very much new comb, if any. They will be focused on filling up any open drawn cells and will be hesitant to expend resources on new comb right now. They should be in winter preparation mode.

 

[AlanInNJ]

The bottom boxes have little to no honey......just a little bit in some of the corners. It's mostly hatched out brood cells with a little bit of capped brood, some eggs, some larva on a few frames. So based on this I am going to feed some 2:1 for the next month or so.