Text Transcript with Description of Visuals
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| [Music] Welcome to module two, video three of ABEJAS. | ABEJAS Logo in front of bees crawling on frame Title: Module 2.3 When Do Your Bees Need Supplemental Food? |
| Feeding honeybees can be crucial for their health and productivity, especially when nectar or pollen sources are scarce. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera |
| This video will explain ways to recognize if your bees need supplemental feeding during different times of the year. The amount of supplemental food needed by a colony depends on the natural nectar and pollen flow, amount of food stored in the hive, time of year, and the number of bees in a colony. During spring, sugar syrup and pollen supplementation can help when there aren’t enough flowers blooming nearby. | Person standing behind large vats of sugar syrup Truck driving away holding large vat of sugar syrup Bee crawling on white flower Pollen stores in hive frame Beekeeper pouring sugar syrup into honey bee hive with a hose Truck driving by holding large vat of sugar syrup and beekeeper sitting on truck bed [Credited footage: Project Apis m] |
| It can also help boost the growth of a colony coming out of winter and sugar syrup helps the bees draw out beeswax comb. | Timelapse of beekeepers inspecting colonies Beekeepers pouring sugar syrup into colonies with a hose [Credited footage: Project Apis m] |
| When flowers finish blooming and nectar and pollen sources become scarce, we refer to this period as a dearth. Providing supplemental food helps maintain critical colony functions such as brood production. | Beekeeper standing in apiary with many bees flying around Beekeeper pouring sugar syrup into colonies with a hose |
| A colony that has limited pollen, nectar, or honey stores may not raise enough brood to keep the colony healthy and growing. | Close up of larva inside honey bee frame. Text on screen: Healthy, well fed brood |
| In extreme cases, colonies will cannibalize existing brood or starve to death. | Honey bee frame containing bees that died with their heads inside cells. Text on screen: A colony that has died of starvation |
| You can check to see how well the colony’s brood is being fed. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera |
| In a well nourished colony. The young larvae should rest in a large pool of brood food. The C-shaped larvae have sufficient brood food, which is the milky white liquid in the bottom of the cell. | Close up of larva sitting in puddles of liquid inside honey bee frame |
| This image is an example of starved dry larvae with no visible brood food. This signals that the larvae are starving and the colony needs supplemental food. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera. Image comparing proper amount of brood food and improper amount of brood food appears. Text on screen: Well nourished larvae (left). Starved, dry larvae (right) |
| During the late spring or early summer the bees will likely experience a nectar flow where they bring in large amounts of nectar and make honey. | Bee crawling on white flower |
| This is a time of year to put honey supers on the hive to provide more room for their honey stores. | Beekeeper holding frame full of capped honey and bees. Text on screen: A nice frame of capped honey |
| Stop feeding sugar syrup when the nectar flow begins and the bees have enough food stored. | Beekeeper stacking two boxes onto another hive box. Text on screen: Adding honey supers |
| Monitor colonies in late summer and early fall to determine if supplemental feeding is needed. | Line of honey bees feeding drip of honey on frame. Text on screen: Capped honey stored in hive |
| Fall feeding helps build strong colonies for winter and prevent starvation. | Truck carrying large vat of sugar syrup backing up |
| Feeding is particularly important if the colony feels light and there are not enough honey stores. During this part of the year a syrup with a higher sugar content helps bees quickly ripen the syrup for storage. | Beekeeper places pollen patty on top of frames Sugar syrup is poured into feeder with a hose |
| To check if a colony is light on honey stores use the box handle to tip the hive and judge its weight. A hive that is relatively hard to tip is heavy. A hive that readily tips without much effort is light. This can take some practice to correctly judge. | Beekeepers tipping one side of hive to assess weight |
| Tip the hive before prying any boxes apart to avoid causing a box to slip. Lifting several hives can increase your confidence in the average hive weight in the bee yard. | Beekeeper struggling to tilt hive box. Text on screen: A heavy hive Beekeeper easily tilts hive box. Text on screen: A light hive |
| When feeding sugar syrup, there are a few considerations to keep in mind. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera |
| A small colony will need less food than a large colony with lots of mouths to feed. | Sugar syrup is poured into feeder with a hose |
| Avoid feeding colonies that are too weak to survive winter, because that may support robbing by neighboring colonies. | Frame containing many open hexagonal cells and a few bees crawling on frame. Text on screen: This colony is severely damaged from Varroa mites and related diseases. It will not survive the winter. |
| If any food is left over from a previous visit, look closely to determine the cause. Make sure any leftover sugar syrup does not smell fermented. | Beekeeper scooping dead bees out of feeder and lifts clump of dead bees toward nose. Beekeeper removes feeder from hive. Text on screen: Check remaining syrup for fermentation and water |
| Also check the syrup’s consistency to confirm it isn’t rainwater from a leaky cover. Discard fermented sugar or water away from the hive before refilling the feeder. | Beekeeper carries feeder away from hive and pours it on the ground. Text on screen: Dispose of fermented sugar syrup or water away from colonies |
| Bee’s readily perform a behavior called “robbing” when there are limited nectar sources and temperatures are warm enough for foraging flights. Robbing bees attack weaker colonies, which can lead to colony death. | Close up of bees flying by hive Two bees attacking another bee. Text on screen: Bees fighting near the entrances of hives |
| To identify robbing look for bees fighting at a hive entrance and for bees trying to enter a hive in a location other than the entrance. | Bees climbing into hive through crack between hive body and hive lid. Text on screen: Bees using an unsecured lid as an entrance to rob another colony |
| Take steps to avoid robbing behavior. Don’t leave sugar syrup where bees from other colonies can access it, | Bees drinking a puddle of sugar syrup off hive lid. Text on screen: Don’t leave sugar syrup where bees from other colonies can access it |
| or spill sugar syrup on or around the hive. Clean up spilled sugar syrup with water. | Red X indicates improper method. Sugar syrup being poured into multiple feeders with a hose, splashing syrup onto hive lids. Text on screen: Clean up spilled sugar syrup with water |
| Ensure colonies are well sealed and covers are correctly placed to limit places robbing bees can enter a colony. | Beekeeper fixes hive lid that was sitting crooked on hive body. Text on screen: Ensure colonies are well sealed and covers are correctly placed |
| A colony that runs out of sugar reserves will starve. Starvation typically happens towards the end of winter, beginning of spring, or any time there is a nectar dearth. To tell if a colony starved, look for clusters of dead bees with no stored food in the hive. Dead bees can be found down inside of the cells. These bees died trying to get any last drops of honey. | Pile of dead bees. Honey bees head first inside hexagonal cells. Text on screen: This colony has died of starvation |
| Pollen is rich in protein and amino acids. Protein stimulates brood production. Feed pollen to colonies when there are few blooming flowers and little stored pollen in a hive. | Bee crawling inside yellow flower Close up of bee on frame with large pollen baskets on legs Honey bee frame containing stored pollen. Text on screen: Pollen stored in hive |
| To know if a colony is light on pollen stores, look for pollen in cells just outside of a brood nest. A colony with good stores will have bands of pollen surrounding the brood nest. | Bees crawling on frame containing capped honey, pollen, larvae, and capped brood cells. Red circle appears around pollen stores. Text on screen: Pollen in cells just outside of the brood nest. |
| Feed pollen substitute, often called pollen patties, to a colony that lacks stored pollen. Pollen patties may contain ingredients like soy flour, brewer’s yeast, a protein source like dried milk or chickpea flour, sugar syrup, or oil that makes the patty pliable and other additives. | A rectangular pollen patty sitting on hive lid. Text on screen: A pollen patty A pollen patty sitting on top of hive frames with bees crawling around. Text on screen: Bees consuming a pollen patty |
| A few commercially available pollen substitutes include real pollen. Like with feeding sugar syrup there are a few considerations to keep in mind when feeding pollen substitute. First is to place the pollen patty onto the frames in the center of the brood chamber for optimal consumption. | Beekeeper opening hive Beekeeper holding hive open, bees crawling on frames, beekeeper places pollen patty on top of frames. Text on screen: Place the pollen patty onto the frames in the center of the brood chamber |
| For larger colonies, feed 1 to 2 pounds of pollen supplement at a time. | That process is repeated once more in other colonies. Text on screen: For larger colonies, feed 1-2 pounds of pollen supplement |
| For weaker colonies feed half or one pound of pollen. | Beekeeper holding hive open, beekeeper slices pollen patty in half then places it on top of frames. Text on screen: For weaker colonies, feed 1/2 or 1 pound of pollen supplement |
| Check the bees again in 7 to 10 days. If there is leftover pollen patty in one colony when the others are consuming theirs, look for a problem with the queen. Bees not consuming their pollen patty may not be actively rearing brood. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera Beekeeper puffing smoke onto bees, half eaten pollen patty is sitting on top of frame, then closes hive. |
| If you observe any small larvae in the pollen, they are likely small hive beetle larvae. We will talk more about that pest in the next module. Discard the patty if it is at all infested with larvae. To reduce small hive beetle issues, provide less pollen supplements and rip the patty in half for smaller colonies. | Many small larvae and black beetles climbing on pollen patty crumbles. Text on screen: Small hive beetle adults and larvae |
| During late fall and early winter, the colony naturally slows down and the queen stops egg laying. It is not necessary to supplement colonies with pollen at this time because they don’t need the extra protein for brood production. | Landscape with wildflowers, scans over to honey bee hives sitting in field of wild flowers. Text on screen: In climates where brood production decreases in the winter, it is not necessary to provide pollen supplements in late autumn and early winter |
| [Music] | Beekeeper winding hose up on truck holding large vat of sugar syrup, bees flying |
| As beekeepers, we have the responsibility to feed our bees as needed to prevent starvation, step in to help honeybee colonies, and know what and when to feed. Combining the knowledge you’ve learned from module one, honey bee biology and overwintering behavior, you can prepare your colonies to successfully get through any dearth and survive the winter. Next, we will be talking more about how to recognize a colony’s queen status. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera ABEJAS logo, list of two upcoming videos, and @wsubeeprogram YouTube Logo appears |
| [Music] | Close up of bee drinking sugar syrup Overlay of WSU Bee Program, Washington State University, Wonderstone Films, United States Department of Agriculture, Project Apis m, Miller Honey Farms, and University of Minnesota Extension logos appear Scrolling list of people involved in development of videos appears |
| If you’ve enjoyed this video, please subscribe to the channel and leave us a comment below to let us know what additional topics you would like us to cover in future videos. | A beekeeper closing a clapperboard that says “WSU ABEJAS English” Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera |