REGARDING           RE>Feeding Syrup/Pollen
 
John Taylor wrote:
"How long do I feed the syrup mixture?  My book said, "Purchase at
least 100 pounds of sugar for each package that you have ordered and a
day or two before you expect them mix up a quantity of syrup using
approximately 20 pounds of granulated sugar to 1 gallon of warm
water."  I purchased 40 pounds to get started and have just about fed
the first 20 pounds of that.  100 pounds at this rate seems as if it
will last me into the Fall!
It seems that I probably ought to keep feeding them as long as I'm
giving them all of this foundation to work . . .  how about  when I
put the supers on?
There is the expected collection of syrup/nectar and pollen in the
frames that are worked.  What prevents the bees from taking pollen up
into a super?"
 
What book are you reading?  I agree with your experience, that a new package
would never eat up 100 lbs of sugar just getting started.  Now, part of the
difference may be in our two locations, but of the 55 packages I started the
last week of April this year,  the *most* any package took was about 1 quart
of syrup.  Except for making up ant bait with part of the rest, I had to
throw it all away (I put a gallon on each package hive).   Of course, another
major difference is that I had old dead hives with plenty of stores to get
them started on, with no foundation at all for them to draw.  But I still
find it hard to believe that anyone is recommending 100 lbs of sugar to get a
package started!
 
I wouldn't give them sugar after putting on the supers.  You want natural
nectar honey in your supers, not sugar water honey.
 
Sure, the bees will take up some pollen into the supers, usually only the one
just above the brood nest.  I find that this is discouraged quite a bit if I
use queen excluders (plus I don't get *any* brood in the supers, which I find
disgusting to try to extract around).  If you have pollen in your extracting
frames, it is especially important to balance them well when loading the
extractor, but otherwise it is really no problem.
 
Ted Fischer