Bee Nutrition: Feeding Your Bees for Healthy, Productive Colonies
A healthy hive begins with proper nutrition. Just like any living creature, honey bees require a balanced diet to raise brood, produce honey, survive winter, and defend themselves against pests and diseases.
In this class, you’ll learn what bees naturally eat, how their nutritional needs change throughout the year, and when supplemental feeding is beneficial. We’ll discuss the roles of nectar, pollen, honey, bee bread, water, and common feeding products such as sugar syrup and pollen patties. You’ll also learn when feeding can help your colonies and when it may do more harm than good.
Topics include:
- The nutritional needs of honey bees
- Nectar, pollen, honey, and bee bread
- Seasonal feeding strategies
- Sugar syrup ratios and when to use them
- Pollen patties and protein supplements
- Providing water for your bees
- Recognizing signs of nutritional stress
- Helping colonies during dearths and drought conditions
- Common feeding mistakes to avoid
Whether you’re just getting started or have been keeping bees for years, this class will help you make informed feeding decisions that promote stronger colonies, healthier brood, and improved overwintering success.
Who should attend: Beginning to intermediate beekeepers, or anyone interested in improving colony health through better nutrition.