>    Simply put: What
>and how much do you use  and how do you prepare it and then how do you
>feed?
>Ron Bogansky




         I feed High Fructose Corn Syrup, from AE Staley Co. in Decatur,
Illinois. It comes pre-mixed, and 11.55 lbs/gal...almost the weight of honey.
         You say the bees need 75 pounds of stores to winter. A two story
colony with bees...without cover...weighs 70 pounds. If you winter in three
stories, add 10 pounds for the super, etc. Add your 75 pounds to the weight
of your hive. This will give you a target weight of 150 - 160 pounds. Feed
enough HFCS to bring the weight of each of your hives to that weight. I
count each gallon fed as 10 pounds.
         I weigh and feed in early October. At that time, the last brood is
hatching...usually...and the syrup is packed into the upper broodnest. The
bees don't have to remove extra moisture from the HFCS syrup, so early
feeding isn't necessary. Just get it done before it gets cold. The first
half of October would be good in PA.


Right or wrong I leave them with
sufficient stores after the mid summer harvest and in most cases let
them keep the fall flow for added insurance.
Ron


I'm definitely not feed 'em 'till they won't take any more beekeeper.
Leaving them with way more honey than they need is wasteful. Do you have a
lot of crystallized honey in the top of the broodnest in the spring? If so,
you are leaving too much honey on the hives because you think it a good
insurance policy. Take that nice summer honey, and let them have the fall
flow. If they don't store enough at that time, then weigh and feed what
they need.

Mike