Beekeeping equipment maker, Thorne, has issued feeding advice to ‘safeguard against starvation’ during ‘unpredictable’ weather conditions.
While Spring may be here in terms of the meteorological calendar, changeable weather can have an adverse effect on bees’ food supply as colonies start to expand.
Thorne says that with the weather ‘changing daily’, beekeepers must ensure they keep their bees fed, recommending fondant as ‘a safe and reliable way of ensuring your bees have sufficient stores’.
The beekeeping experts at Thorne say:
‘There are several methods beekeepers use for assessing the stores within a colony. For many of us we may not fully appreciate how much our bees had in the way of stores going into the winter and at what rate they are being consumed. By putting fondant on, there is very little to lose and it provides a safeguard against starvation.
‘Another advantage of using fondant is that the bees rarely store it, so there is little or no risk of it appearing within your spring honey and therefore no obvious disadvantage in leaving some on until the Spring flow (if we get one) begins.
‘Some bees will devour the fondant avidly, others will just look at it. At least you, the beekeeper, will know you have done what you can and the relatively cheap cost of a pack of fondant could be very worthwhile.’
More news like this can be found in The Country Smallholder magazine. Subscribe here.
For FREE updates from the world of smallholding, sign up for The Country Smallholder newsletter here.
