To Feed or Not to Feed: Spring Syrup and a Thoughtful Hive Check
To Feed or Not to Feed: Spring Syrup and a Thoughtful Hive Check
As spring unfolds and your hives awaken, many beekeepers wonder: Should I feed 1:1 sugar syrup, even if there’s still capped honey left over from winter?
The answer? It depends—but in most strong, established colonies with ample honey stores, it’s not necessary. Feeding when it isn’t needed can actually do more harm than good.
Let’s break it down.
Connect: Listen to Your Hive
Spring is the season to reconnect with your bees after the long winter. A quick inspection will tell you a lot. If your colonies are bursting with bees and brood, and capped honey still fills the top frames, they’re telling you: “We’re good for now.”
Feeding sugar syrup (1:1 ratio) is best reserved for:
Newly installed packages
Nucleus colonies
Splits without resources
Colonies that are light on stores or need a boost for brood building
Otherwise, feeding can:
Backfill the brood nest, limiting laying space
Trigger premature swarming
Add unnecessary moisture for the bees to manage
Connect with your hive by asking: Do they need my help—or do they need me to step back?
Explore: Tilt Before You Tear It Apart
Here’s a simple, low-impact trick to explore what’s happening inside without diving straight into the hive:
Tilt the hive body up gently from the back and peek underneath between the frames.
What can you see?
Bees festooning between frames? Lots of activity = strong colony.
Swarm cells forming on the bottom bar? Time to act.
Not much action? Maybe they’re still clustering or the queen is slow to build up.
Why it matters: Tilting lets you explore your hive’s progress with minimal disturbance. You protect the queen from accidental harm and reduce stress on the bees, especially during those cool spring days when you want to avoid cracking everything open.
Sustain: Support the Colony, Don’t Overdo It
Beekeeping is about balance and timing—not just doing what we’ve always done, but responding to the specific needs of each colony.
Feeding sugar syrup when it’s not needed can:
Waste your time and resources
Lead to unhealthy hive dynamics
Disrupt the natural nectar-foraging rhythm that supports pollination in your local ecosystem
If you want to help your colonies sustain growth:
Add space when needed, not sugar when it’s not
Reposition frames to open up the brood nest
Stay attentive without being overbearing
Mark’s Spring Tip
Before diving into your hive:
“Tilt the box from the back and peek underneath for festooning bees or swarm cells—it’s gentle, fast, and may save your queen from harm. Less stress. More insight.”
Pro Tip: Sugar Syrup with a Boost
If you do need to feed, try this simple recipe to give your syrup a helpful edge:
Spring Sugar Syrup Recipe (1:1 ratio)
1 part white granulated sugar
1 part warm (not hot) water
Stir until fully dissolved
Optional Additions (for health & uptake):
1 drop lemongrass essential oil
1 drop spearmint or thyme essential oil
Mix essential oils with a small amount of syrup or lecithin emulsifier before adding to the full batch to help blend
Note: Use essential oils sparingly and only food-safe, bee-safe oils. Never add directly without dilution.
Connect | Explore | Sustain—this is how we grow together with our bees, season after season.
Got spring questions? Leave them in the comments or join one of our hands-on Edu-🐝 workshops where we walk you through real-time inspections and natural hive management.
Let’s bee curious—and kind to our colonies.