I just supered up my bees as we are having an early spring in central North
Carolina but I thought I would throw in my observations on feeding dry
sugar with rims.  Following Randy's lead I split all my bees after the
honey flow last summer and requeened with cells, trying to break the mite
cycle too.  I still did alcohol washes and had to treat many with formic
but I went into the winter with half of 250 colonies as singles, some in
central NC and some at 3200 ft in the NC mountains.  I treated with OA in
early December and was nervous about the stored honey situation as we had a
warm fall.  I put 2 inch rims - left over from menthol days I think - on
suspect hives, laid on a sheet of newspaper, and poured on the dry sugar.
I tried to fill the rim.  Net result:  success!  I think the sugar provided
insulation and absorbed moisture.  Also, almost without exception the bees
ate most of the sugar.  Those that did not had problems, and uneaten sugar
is a good diagnostic tool, be it dry or in a feeder, that something is
amiss.

I keep a 2 gallon division board feeder in all hives but will be pouring on
the dry sugar again next year.

Bill Lord
Louisburg, NC

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