Spring feed for bees.

I make an irresistible food mix for the bees in the spring. I make them from a base of Global Patties. Remove the paper from one side.

I used to buy a case of these each year, but cases are no longer available. Equally good products are Mega Bee and Brood Builder patties. Mega Bee also comes in power form eliminating the need to strip away the paper backing.

I then remove the patty material with a spoon.

Mix in some water or 1:1 sugar syrup to thin it out a bit.

It takes some work, but it will thin out nicely.

If you're using the Mega Bee power, you can use the recommended  1:1 sugar syrup, but I would make them a little more runny. You can also use Honey Bee Healthy in the syrup.

I then add honey to sweeten the mix. This is the base for the feed. Always use your own honey for this. If you have ever had any brood disease or suspected any, I wouldn't use the honey as this can spread Foul brood and other problems. The sugar syrup added above is a good and safe additive.

As you can see it's a fairly loose mix, more of a pancake batter.

At this point I add the special ingredient.    POLLEN   This is pollen I have trapped from my own hives the previous spring. I add a good amount to the mix, another reason to make the mix fairly thin. Again only use your own pollen from clean hives. This too can pass along disease, so be sure.

If the mix is too thin, you can thicken it up with some sugar.

This is the final product.

I load it into a zip lock bag for dispensing.

Clip one corner off just a little, and pipe it out like frosting. The white on the cover is granulated sugar placed there JUST in cast they needed it, and the white stuff in the field behind is, well you know that one !!! Note the date of the pictures...

You can apply it to the inner cover or directly on the top bars of the frames. I give them a table spoon or so each time I give this to them

Do they like it ? I think so.

Feeding this early in the season can get brood rearing going earlier in the year than they would normally would, so be prepared to continue feeding and watch for signs of swarming in the spring. I use this to increase hive strength and hive numbers in my apiaries.

**  I only use honey and pollen from my bees. You should NEVER use products from a "foreign" source to reduce the possibility of introducing any diseases into your apiary.