In article <[log in to unmask]>, Dar Heinze
<[log in to unmask]> writes
>Hello!
>
>I have a question about feeding.  I read that the proper fall feed was 2 parts
>sugar, and 1 part water.
 
That is correct. The objective is to feed the bees with as high a
concentration of sugar as possible so that they can convert it into
stores with the minimum amount of effort.
> Well, almost everytime I have made syrup 2:1, it has
>crystalized before the bees could drink it all.
 
If you try using warm water you will find that it goes into solution
much easier. Of course, you must allow it to cool before feeding it to
the bees.
 
If they do not have sufficient free space (i.e. empty cells), they may
well not need the extra stores so they will be slow to take it.
 
> So, I decreased the sugar to
>1 3/4:1, which seems to fix the problem.  But - will this lessened sugar
>content have any ill effects?
 
Yes. As it gets cooler, they may not be able to reduce the water content
low enough to be used as stores and it will probably ferment in the
cells.  This will cause the bees problems when they come to eat it.
 
> I have a entrance feeder, so when the sugar
>crystalizes, it plugs the holes and does not allow any more liquid to pass
>through.
 
The idea is that you can stimulate the bees into early brood rearing in
the spring with slow feeders such as this (they also need a pollen
supplement to get the hypopharyngeal gland producing brood food). In the
autumn, you need to replace the honey that you have removed by bulk
feeding them syrup. To do this, you would be better off with a hive top
feeder such as the asforth or miller style which hold a gallon or more
at a time - or even a frame feeder (frame feeders do not hold as much as
the others so you have to disturb the bees more with this type as you
re-fill them).
>
>Thanks!
>Dar
 
--
Paul Walton
Bedfordshire, England
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