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Feeding Honeybees in the Fall

As each beekeeping season is nearing its end, beekeepers are filled with a twinge of sadness and anxiety. Not only will we miss being able to check on and care for our bees, we’ll also be concerned for their health and well-being through the long, cold months of winter.

But as we’ve touched on recently, instead of just being worried about our bees now, there’s plenty we can do to help them face the coming cold. In recent Snippets, we touched on the importance of Assessing Honeybee Colony Size and the other steps that should be taken to help Prepare Colonies for Winter, to aid in them producing strong & healthy “Winter Bees”!

Following the guidance in these Snippets can help make it easier for you and your bees to prepare for the coming cold, if they’ve got enough resources to help them survive the winter.

Assessing Fall Honey (and pollen) Stores

In many regions, naturally available foraging resources begin to dwindle by the end of summer and early fall months. Because there are no longer enough pollen or nectar sources to sustain additional colony growth and production of winter bees, bees must rely on their previously collected pollen and honey stores.

Whatever honey stores bees have collected so far throughout the season must be enough to sustain them all the way until the arrival of next spring and new resources. If there isn’t enough there, the winter cluster may become too cold trying to find food stores and will perish.

During the fall months, it’s crucial to take note of how many frames of honey and pollen there are inside your honeybee hive. An average-sized honeybee colony will need roughly 60-80lbs of just honey (an entire hive, bees, honey, and equipment included, should weigh between 130-150lb) to successfully overwinter.

Fall Feeding Can Help Prevent Winter Starvation

Even a thriving colony that forms a large and healthy cluster going into the winter months can perish if there is not enough food available to provide energy and allow bees to create warmth and manage temperatures.

Though honeybees are often capable of taking care of themselves, our job as beekeepers is to help them do so. Bees dying of starvation in the winter is a real risk to colonies in most climates, especially those that may be weakened due to varroa mites or other diseases.

If you’re concerned that your honeybee colony does not seem to have enough food stores in its hive, adding a supplemental feed in the fall months can give them the time and ability to help build up those food stores, giving them a much better chance at survival.

Frames of Honey
- Capped honey is always the superior choice for feeding bees in need of carbohydrates if you have it available. After all, that’s what they typically eat! Use a frame of honey from another hive or one that you’ve stored for an easy way to get some food to your bees quickly. *IMPORTANT NOTE*: Make sure that any frames of honey have been previously frozen for 24-48 hours to ensure any pests/diseases have been eliminated. Defrost frames before adding them into the hive and avoid any dark honey (especially those with high ash content) unless bees can take cleansing flights.
Feeding Sugar Syrup
- Sugar syrup is a great way to provide carbohydrates to bees and give them an emergency source of stored food that’s similar in consistency and nutrients to nectar. Feed sugar syrup that has a ratio of 2:1 (2 cups sugar for 1 cup water) in colder months as it has less water content to evaporate so bees can store it much faster.
Feeding Pollen Supplements
- Though less necessary in the fall months when bees aren’t rearing as much brood, pollen is still an important source of many nutrients that honeybees need through the winter months. During the fall months, bees typically need 2 frames full of pollen for winter storage
- If they don’t have at least 2 full frames of pollen (taking into account any partially filled pollen frames in the brood nest), additional pollen substitutes may be needed.
In-Between Feed (both protein and carbohydrates)
- Winter Patties – Winter patties can be made or purchased and are a supplemental winter feed patty with small amounts of pollen and some sugar for carbohydrates. This is typically used as an emergency feed and typically fed during the cold winter months when stores have been exhausted and no natural sources are available (keep in mind to be careful of feeding too much pollen too early).

Check out the Learn More section below for more links on when, how, and what to feed honeybees, plus we’ll show you some of the products you can use to do so.

The Threat of Robbing

Keep in mind that if natural foraging resources are low or non-existent for honeybees, other insects are searching for them, too. Finding a beehive with honey or nectar resources (especially if you are feeding bees) can feel like an oasis in the desert to a wasp or honeybee from a neighboring colony.

Bees who are guarding their hive’s entrance against these robbers can become easily agitated and may be weakened by the consistent fighting off intruders and by the missing resources the robber may have taken.

To help keep the interest of robbers at bay, avoid any open or entrance feeding during the fall months (read on to find some in-hive feeder suggestions below). Consider adding a robber screen to your hive’s entrance when the threat of robbers is a risk to help them defend it and keep robbers OUT!

It’s important to keep in mind that sometimes, your bees could be the ones doing the robbing!
- In a recent Colony Cluster event, a member named Kelle mentioned how she harvested a super full of honey and put it back on the hive empty for bees to fully clean out the combs so she could store them. There were little foraging resources left, but somehow her bees filled that super back up in a week! As our Ambassador, William, kindly reminded us, that super filling up so quickly could actually be the result of Kelle’s bees being robbers of another honeybee hive. If you suspect your bees may have robbed another colony, consider quickly doing a mite count! If that colony was weak enough to be robbed, it could be a mite infestation or disease weakening them and your bees could bring back a high mite load.

Leaving Supers on During the Winter Months

Many beekeepers, whether it’s their first season or 10^th, will find themselves wondering how much honey is too much to leave atop the hive, especially if they’re in colder climates.

Though it may seem like a good idea to leave as many full honey supers as possible on top of your beehive for bees to access through the winter, it can actually become a bit of a nightmare for both the beekeeper and their bees.

Even in the cold climates of the Northeast, many beekeepers would not recommend leaving two supers (or more) on a hive through the winter months.

If there are two supers atop the hive, once they have been emptied of honey, the queen is likely to begin laying in those uppermost supers in the spring.

One option might be to move the 2^nd full super instead to the bottom of the hive during the fall months, if it’s possible to move with the 2 (likely very heavy) deeps you may already have. Having the empty super space on the bottom boxes means that the queen will be less likely to start laying in it during the spring since they’re most likely at the top of the hive by then, but it’s not a guarantee.

All in all, feeding bees in the fall months can help give them a much better chance at surviving the cold winter months. So, make good notes about your colony’s food stores and their estimated (or confirm it with a hive monitor!) hive weight and weight of their honey stores, and when necessary, them throughout the fall.

Learn More

Check out some of our free learning resources below that are related to fall feeding. We’ve also made note of some of our favorite feeding-related products (available in the PerfectBee Store) that can help make easy work of fall feeding.

When to Feed Honeybee Colonies – Find out more about knowing when it’s time to feed your honeybees in our Snippet!
What to Feed Honeybee Colonies – In this Snippet, we’ll cover the what of feeding honeybees and additional details on how to make your own bee feed at home.
How to Feed Honeybee Colonies – In another Snippet, we go over the how of feeding honeybees, the practical guidance behind this important task.
Open Or Closed Feeding: Which Is Best? – As we touched on above, open feeding during the fall months is NOT recommended! Learn more about the differences between the two in our article.
Perspective on Feeding Bees – This blog post dives into the reasons you might want to feed your bees and covers some ways to do it, too.
Looking Forward as the Colony Grows – In this edition of “Newbee Questions, Expert Answers”, Ron answers Mark’s questions about many beekeeping topics, “feeding bees” included!
What Bees Need – Learn more about the needs of honeybees and how you can help ensure they stay healthy in this article.
The Beekeeper’s Role in Avoiding Colony Starvation – It’s important for a beekeeper to know how many food stores their colony should have, as well as when and how to intervene when needed. Starvation is one of the leading causes of colony death during the winter months, so it can really help to learn through this article about avoiding colony starvation.
A New Beekeeper’s Journal – A Fall Checklist – This blog post details what to consider in the fall and gives you an idea of tasks you might want to be completing.
A New Beekeeper’s Journal – Cooler Weather and the Beekeeper – More on what to consider as the cold weather begins and what you should be doing in your bee yard.
Winter or Pollen Patties? – Winter patties are a great (and easy) way to add supplemental feed to your colonies, but why is that? Find out more in this blog that goes into more detail on when you’d choose winter patties or pollen patties.

Honeybee Feeding (during any time of year) and Related Products – Available in the PerfectBee Store

10-Frame Wooden Hive Top Feeder – Perfect for heavy 2:1 sugar syrup or winter patties, the 10-frame wooden hive top feeder is an excellent fall and winter-feeding tool.
BeeMax Hive Top Feeder – This high-capacity feeder is perfect for feeding sugar syrup to your bees at any time of year.
Ultimate Direct Feeder – An excellent choice for fall feeding, this feeder holds 1 gallon of syrup and stays protected inside a hive body.
Winter Patties – When honey stores run low or dry up completely, winter patties are a great way to add emergency feed to your hives. They may not be available until mid-October, so keep an eye out and stock up so you’ve got feed ready when your bees need it!
Small Jar Feeder – Add a jar to this feeder and keep it safe from robbers inside your hive as you provide supplemental sugar syrup feed.
Division Board Feeder – Another great option for fall & winter in-hive feeders. Though this feeder does require some frames to be removed to insert the feeder in a box, the syrup will stay warm and safe from robbers inside the hive.
Shim for Wooden Hives – Adding a shim to your hive setup gives you the space to lay winter or pollen patties on your top frames so that bees can easily access them.
Hive Alive Fondant – A simple way to provide carbohydrates and nutrients to your bees, perfect for fall and winter feeding.
Hive Alive Feed Supplement – Add nutrients and flavor to your honeybees’ syrup with this supplement.
Winter Patties – Winter patties can be a great source of emergency feed during the cold months. Add a shim (linked above) to give your bees space to access the feed.
Pollen Patties – If bees need additional stored protein, pollen patties are a great way to provide it. Take caution, though, SHBs love to hide in pollen patties… prevent that with the Trivet!

Colony Member Resources

Member-Only Academy Lessons

Colony members, check out the member-only Academy lessons below to learn all about winterizing your hives and what honeybees have to do to get through the winter months.

An Introduction to Feeding Honeybees – Feeding bees can be absolutely crucial during certain parts of the year. Find out more about feeding bees in this lesson.
Using Feeders with Your Hive – Find out all about the feeder types available and feed types for your bees in this detailed lesson.
Preparing for Deep and Long Winters – Those of us in cold climates can relate to how difficult it is not just for bees to get through the winter months but for the beekeeper too! Find out more about getting through the cold months in this lesson.

Colony Forum Posts

The Colony Forum is a great way for Colony members to discuss their concerns and get insights and guidance from other members and our experienced PerfectBee Ambassadors.

Colony members, find some additional information on feeding your honeybees, especially during the fall, in the Colony Forum discussion threads below.

Have fall feeding questions of your own? Log in to the Colony Forum anytime to post a new discussion and get answers from our kind & friendly community of beekeepers.

Colony Cluster Events with Discussions on Fall Feeding

Our live Colony Cluster events are also a great way for members to connect with our Ambassadors and members alike to get their questions answered and share their beekeeping stories.

Colony members, you can check out all our previous Colony Cluster event recordings anytime from your Colony Dashboard!

Below are a few Cluster recordings where we focused the discussion on feeding bees during the fall months (and sometimes feeding in general). Log in to your Colony account to check them out at the links below!

Not yet a member of our Colony community, but wish you had the support of a group of kind & friendly beekeepers to help you learn more about beekeeping?

Look no further! If you’d like to participate in beekeeping discussions like the ones above, consider giving Colony membership a try! Between our Cluster events, connections on the Forum, and our detailed Academy syllabus, you’ll be able to quickly grow your beekeeping knowledge and the success of your hobby!

Check out our Colony landing page here to learn about all that’s included and to sign up today.

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