[oldforte]

is it necessary to boil water before adding sugar. how long will it keep at about 75 degrees?

 

[AmericasBeekeeper]

It is not only unnecessary but produces a by-product toxic to bees hydroxymethylfurfural. HMF forms in sugars over 120 degrees. Hot water and agitation will dissolve plenty of sugar way beyond a 1:1 ratio. Bees on HMF will act drunk and die in front of the hive.

 

[Brent Bean]

I use to boil the water then remove it form the heat and add sugar, never seen any drunk bees or had any hives die. But found it was only necessary to use hot tap water and dissolve the sugar this saves a lot of time. If the bees really need the feed it will be consumed before it goes bad at those temperatures. After a week if it’s not all consumed I will remove it. I haven’t noticed any fermentation but mold will start to form. If you don’t have any surplus supers on adding Honey bee healthy will prolong the lifespan.

 

[throrope]

On advice from trusted codger I now only feed for winter stores 2 sugar to 1 water and heat mix to 180 degrees. Kills all and never molds. I haven't had any issues and only had my first loss this year. They died late winter, one out of five. I'm in SE PA.

Unless they are short, my girls ignore the sugar water in hive top feeders when nectar's available.

I'm not discounting the HMF. Bees go about their business with no concern for our goals and one keeper's sacred procedure is another's disaster. The small small starter books are great, but since location greatly affects success even within the same region, I enjoy my own mistakes and make up my own mind.

 

[MichelinMan]

It is not only unnecessary but produces a by-product toxic to bees hydroxymethylfurfural. HMF forms in sugars over 120 degrees. Hot water and agitation will dissolve plenty of sugar way beyond a 1:1 ratio. Bees on HMF will act drunk and die in front of the hive.

hydroxymethylfurfural... what?? :scratch:
I googled this and learned that this is a by-product of dehydrated fructose:

"HMF can be produced from sugars. It arises via the dehydration of fructose, a technology that is evolving through new extraction methods.[3][4] In this new method, fructose is treated with aqueous hydrochloric acid and the HMF (very water-soluble) is continuously extracted into methyl isobutyl ketone as an organic phase at 180 °C. "

Man that`s too tecky for me! :s

Just stick to hot tap water. It cools down right away when you add the sugar but it`s hot enough to help dissolve it. And yes 1:1 syrup will get moldy so don`t use overly big feeders.

 

[Michael Bush]

I find it keeps much better if you boil the water and it keeps much better if you make it stronger. Mine is mostly about 2:5 or so.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfeeding.htm#howtomakesyrup

 

[oldforte]

I tried the mix of 25# sugar to 3 gallons of water and the yield was 5 1/2 gallons of syrup. Does this sound right?

 

[bhfury]

The good thing about boiling water, it releases any CL2 domestic water supplier's put into the water. Chlorinated water isn't good for anyone, let alone bees.

 

[Tom G. Laury]

Many claim "a little" clorox in syrup cures chalkbrood.

 

[charmd2]

bhfury, then why the heck are the bees all over the swimming pool? And don't say nearest water sources, I have approximately a hundred. The next place that appears to be a favorite is the pond bank, and that's closer.