Hi Ann
Thank you! I'll have a go with the recipe. Reminds me of fudge.
Best wishes
Mary
On 3 Nov 2017, at 15:59, Ann Welch (Redacted sender "ann_welch" for DMARC)
<dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Mary,
I'm sure Paul will give you song and verse at the meeting but just a quick
reply, if it's too cold for syrup then you can feed fondant. You can make
your own (see attached recipe), but Thornes sell it in plastic packets....
https://www.thorne.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1665
All you do is cut a circular a hole in the plastic and place it upside down
over the top box top bars inside your quilt box, where you would otherwise
put a syrup feeder. If they need it they'll help themselves.
ttfn
Ann
-----Original Message----- From: Mary Baker
Sent: Friday, November 3, 2017 2:53 PM
To: oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [oxnatbees] Re: Time to remove feeders
Dear Paul
I would like to come to the meeting on 16th. I have some questions about
feeding, which maybe you would be able to answer at the meeting?
1) I only have one box full of bees. I gave them two feeder-fulls, 2kg of
sugar, I think. I stopped because you warned us about the cold - it was the
end of September. Then I was shocked to think I could have carried on into
October it was so mild. Have they had enough? Could I put some food into the
bottom?
2) How do you feed during the winter? I have a spare quilt box as I thought
it would help with feeding.
3) I want to mix some wool that I picked off fences and washed, with the
chippings in the quilt box, would that be all right? I feel the wool would be
warmer but I haven't enough to fill the box.
4) Can you wrap the whole hive up to keep it warm?
Thank you
Mary
On 25 Oct 2017, at 12:58, Paul Honigmann (Redacted sender "paul.honigmann"<Fondant recipe.docx>
for DMARC) <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Bees need a minimum ambient temperature to process nectar or syrup into
honey, and soon the weather will be too cool for them to make use of syrup.
At that point, a feeder in the top of a hive can cause problems, depending
on type.
I use top feeders in my Warres, by removing some insulation in the quilt and
placing them there. Once the bees have drunk them dry, these are simply an
empty volume in the middle of their quilt, and a chimney for losing heat.
Also some people find that once they are empty the bees begin building comb
in them. So once the bees are finished feeding for the year, it is best to
remove them and replace them with insulation again.
This doesn't really apply to other feeder types which are placed inside the
hive, so feel free to ignore this advice. Internal feeders may give other
problems, but they don't lose heat. I continue to favour the top feeders
though because (1) the bees below keep the syrup warm and (2) I can open the
hive (roof) and pour in syrup without the bees coming out to defend against
me.
Oh, and if you haven't done so yet, it is definitely time to fit mouse
guards.
Paul
