Stimulate Brood Rearing Using Bee Food Supplement

To stimulate brood rearing, beekeepers have a preference: they can either move hives onto breeding conditions before major honey flows, taking advantage of different flowering species, or they can artificially arouse their hives with supplementary feeding. This is mostly an economic decision as there are costs related to both moving bees and feeding substitutes and supplements. The word ‘supplements’ recommends that there is already some naturally occurring pollen and/or nectar in the area for the bees and the beekeeper is making up the shortfall by feeding the hive strategic supplements. Supplements have the dietary mechanism that are lacking in the field as well as make up the necessary volume a colony may eat. ‘Substitutes’ suggests that either nectar or pollen, or both, are completely lacking in the field.

Why bee nutrition supplement is important?

Feeding bees in some cases is possible, even though bees do not seem to do as well on honey compared to sugar syrup. It might be better financially for the beekeeper to sell the honey and purchase sugar. If honey has candied in combs then these can be preserved and given to colonies as required. Honey is given to the same colony where it has originated from, except the honey has been uncontaminated by gamma irradiation!

There are risks related to feeding honey to colonies. Feeding honey to a hive is not accepted if the plan is to arouse the hive. The colony will decrease the brood area, the bees will become more self-protective, and robbing activity will augment.

If a colony is critically short of stored honey or requires stimulation, feeding sugar syrup or honey bee nutrition and supplemental feeding to hives will either keep the hive alive or stimulate the colony to rear more brood. Large amounts of dense syrup are suitable for feeding bees to accumulate for winter, while little amounts of thin syrup fed regularly arouse the colony to develop the brood area.

Why do honey bees need essential nutrients?

Honey bees need essential nutrients to stay alive and breed. The basic nutritional necessities of honey bees include the appropriate ratio of lipids, carbohydrates, amino acids, minerals, vitamins, and water to ensure survival and reproduction.

Beekeepers generally agreed that it is necessary to provide a supplemental food source for bees. Almost every beekeeper feeds nutritional supplements at some point in the year. There are two primary drivers for beekeepers to feed protein supplements: to stimulate colonies to produce more brood at certain times of year; and to offer nourishment when natural pollen flow is lacking.

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