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Begin forwarded message:
From: nbu@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: 13 August 2015 12:18:27 BST
To: sicroson@xxxxxx
Subject: August 2015 - Starvation Risk
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Dear Mr Simon Croson.
In many areas of the UK nectar flows have ceased and reports are coming in
from Regional and Seasonal Bee Inspectors of starving bee colonies, where the
beekeeper is not aware that the bees are severely short of food, or the
colony(s) have already starved to death. It is also apparent that Wasps are
becoming populous in many areas and they too are desperate for nutrition so
Beekeepers should be mindful of the need to protect colonies from Wasp
invasion particularly where feeding is taking place in the apiary.
Colonies particularly at Risk are:
• Bee Colonies where supers of honey have been removed this season and no
feeding has taken place.
• Splits / Artificial Swarms and Nucleus colonies made up this year.
• Swarms collected this year where little or no supplementary feeding has
taken place.
Immediate action:
• Firstly - Check all colonies feed levels by ‘hefting the hive’ – Check the
weight of the colony by lifting below the floor on both sides of the hive to
see how much it weighs (Photograph attached - Hefting a Hive). Where the hive
is light, liquid feed should be applied directly above the bees. Remove any
supers from above the brood box which are empty or have few bees in them.
This will help the bees get to the food quickly.
• Feed can be sugar and water mixed at 2:1 ratio or one of the proprietary
ready mixed syrups available from Beekeeping Equipment Suppliers.
• Fondant can be used in an emergency if nothing else is available – but
liquid feed will be more appropriate at this time of the season.
• Large starving colonies of bees will take 1 gallon (Approx 5 Litres) of
syrup very quickly – smaller colonies ½ gallon (Approx 2.5 Litres) may be
sufficient to keep them going, but after feeding heft hives again and check
the weight – if in doubt feed some more in a few days time.
Further information and Guidance:
Further information on supplementary feeding can be found on Beebase – Best
Practice Guideline Number 7 – ‘Emergency Feeding’
http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/index.cfm?pageid=167
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Kind regards,
National Bee Unit.
