Feeding Mistake

[Captain776]

I do a lot of reading almost every day to continue to learn as much as I can, but I think I have been making a feeding mistake for the last 3 months.
I started feeding sugar n water early April when I brought the first NUC home and only planned to feed them for the first week while they were getting acclimated but they were drinking a small plastic frame feeder a day, so I assumed if they were drinking it, they needed it.
They are getting the benefit of the sugar and it saved a lot of bees from having to forage for water.
The reason I was reading today, is I am not seeing capped honey but lots of what I thought was uncapped nectar.
From today's reading, I think I am looking at a lot stored sugar n water and some of it must be nectar by default.
Also from today's reading, they will cap off sugar and water, the same as honey.
I am not reading others peoples opinions on Bolgs for this item it was professors, Entemology research topics, and from government agencies.
I plan to stop feeding all together.
There is more than ample water very close by and varying degrees of nectar and pollen, something is always in bloom here.
When the "free meal" stops, eventually I hope it inspires the girls to consume the stored sugar water.

Your thoughts?

Bruce

[Aroc]

Your area might be different but it's usually recommended to feed your bees their first year to get established.  Most beeks generally do not get honey on a first year hive. 

Undoubtedly you are seeing stored and capped sugar water and nectar. 

The idea is to get the hive built up for winter but like I said in your area you probably don't have to worry about that much.

[eltalia]

G'day Capn.
Aa a general thing I stay out of threads around feeding bees as it
is something I have never done.
Thailand is just next door to us, so I reckon much of what you can
glean on feeding will not apply to you also.

Cheers.

Bill

[PhilK]

Capt a lot of the American beeks say to feed hives in the first year and that first year hives won't get a harvest, but the southern tropics are a lot different to where they are. I don't know about Thailand exactly but here in subtropical Australia there is enough forage year round for the bees to never need feeding (in my experience) and I got a harvest from my hives mere months after installing them from their nucs.

Bees will drink sugar water if it is given to them, especially if it's in the hive. Take it away and let them forage for themselves! Also, make sure you take note of which frames have capped sugar water in them because you don't want to harvest that for your toast!

[Captain776]

Capt a lot of the American beeks say to feed hives in the first year and that first year hives won't get a harvest, but the southern tropics are a lot different to where they are. I don't know about Thailand exactly but here in subtropical Australia there is enough forage year round for the bees to never need feeding (in my experience) and I got a harvest from my hives mere months after installing them from their nucs.

Bees will drink sugar water if it is given to them, especially if it's in the hive. Take it away and let them forage for themselves! Also, make sure you take note of which frames have capped sugar water in them because you don't want to harvest that for your toast!

How can I tell a cell of sugar n water from a cell of nectar?

I am not really after Honey, I am trying to build a strong colony in 2 Brood Boxes before I add a Super.
I hope and believe when they realize there is no sugar water, they will use what they have stored.

Stay tuned, it has been over 2 weeks since I did a full inspection of both boxes on each hive, so I will be in there today.

[BeeMaster2]

Captain,
I used to never feed my bees unless they were new and there was no flow. Now I just do it in the spring between dearths in the spring to keep the bees from absconding and to build them up to be ready for the spring flow. Since you have almost constant flows on, I would not feed them.
Jim

[Captain776]

Captain,
I used to never feed my bees unless they were new and there was no flow. Now I just do it in the spring between dearths in the spring to keep the bees from absconding and to build them up to be ready for the spring flow. Since you have almost constant flows on, I would not feed them.
Jim

Agreed.........just another pothole on the road of learning, I will stop feeding today, remove the frame feeders and replace it with a frame with starter Strip and the girls will fix it.........hopefully