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Why Feed a New Package of Bees?

Worker honey bees produce beeswax. Beekeepers feed new packages of bees to aid in wax production.

Knowing how to feed a new package of bees is very important to the novice beekeeper.  Understanding why is even more important.  Local forage conditions and summer droughts affect the condition of your colonies.

Buying a package of bees is the most common way to acquire new honey bee colonies. Thousands of bee packages are sold each Spring.

The most common size is a 3# package that contains about 10,000 bees including 1 queen.  This is enough bees to start a new hive but the bees didn’t have hive building in mind.
 Feeding Stimulant Ultimate Hive Feeder A Package of Bees is Different Than A Swarm

First, lets examine how a package of bees is different from a natural swarm. When a honey bee colony decides to swarm, preparations began weeks earlier.A good mix of bees of different ages (many at optimum wax producing age) leaves the hive with full stomachs of honey. The swarm will be primed to build comb

A commercial package of bees has been shaken from multiple colonies. They had no plans to go anywhere. They are not prepared to begin comb building immediately. This is one reason a beekeeper needs to feed a new package of bees – their wax glands are not producing.

Food for Traveling

Honey bees must have almost constant contact with food. They will starve in a relatively short period of time without carbohydrates. The supplier will feed the package of bees with a can of syrup installed inside the cage. A tiny hole in the can allows bees to feed during their journey over a couple of days.

This is another way a package differs from a swarm. The bees did not leave the hive with full stomachs of honey.

Setting Up A New Home For Your Bees

Once the beekeeper installs the bees into a hive, they are ready to get to work. Bees are not lazy. Within a hour or so, they will begin to scout and forage for food and water. Most new hives are created in the Spring when natural nectar is available. However, that may not be enough to give your new hive the boost it needs.

Feed A New Package of Bees For A Boost

In order to produce beeswax, honey bees must consume a lot of food. By having a full feeder inside the hive, the colony gets a big boost. Some bees will still go out and bring in nectar. But others will gorge on the sugar syrup and start producing wax and making honey.

It is important to remember that not all blooming flowers produce nectar. Some flowers are more bee friendly than others. Also, weather conditions affect the amount of nectar available. You may have a field of blooms and a starving honey bee colony located in the same area.

The Advantage of Feeding A New Hive

The new honey bee colony with a feeder has another advantage over non-fed colonies. Having access to food overnight allows the bees to continue working. They can also eat and work on rainy days or days too windy for bee flight.

Why are we in such a hurry? Well, the bees have a lot of work to do before Winter. Frames of honeycomb have to be made and filled with honey before cold weather.. Baby bees have to be produced and nurtured to adult hood. And, the colony has to carry on daily activities all summer.

What to Feed A New Package of Bees?

An equal mixture of half sugar and half water mimics nectar. This encourages beeswax production.

We beekeepers often get funny looks from cashiers as we check out a buggy full of cane sugar. Feeding a package of bees to a point of self sufficiency requires more sugar than you might think.

There are many methods for feeding bee hives.  You can check out my recommendations in my post: Feeding bees Sugar Water.

We feed a mixture of 1:1 (equal parts of cane sugar and water) to promote wax production. The amount of sugar you need will depend on several factors. Your climate, foraging conditions and the bees themselves play a role. Some colonies are slower to draw comb than others.

How Long To Feed A New Package of Bees?

This is the big question that everyone asks. When can you stop feeding a new package of bees?

Like most things in beekeeping, there is no “hard and fast” answer. Be prepared to feed until your bees have drawn out and filled all the boxes they need for Winter.

In upstate South Carolina, my colonies have 1 deep and 1 shallow. I will offer sugar water to my new colonies until both of those boxes are mostly finished. This means that a beehive established in April may be fed until July or August.

It is easy to see why local forage conditions and weather play a big role. In mid Spring, we have ample nectar available. But our Summer is hot and often very dry.

A Common Mistake in Feeding New Beehives

This scenario happens way too often in my region. The new beekeeper starts off with a bang. Bees are installed in a hive and well fed. The colony establishes itself drawing out comb and rearing brood. The beekeeper is keeping the feeder filled and then something happens.

The colony continues to grow and prosper but they don’t want the sugar water. What is happening? We beekeepers don’t want to waste our time and money. Sugar water will spoil in the feeder if not consumed.

We assume that the bees are ok and no longer need our help. The landscape is filled with blooms and warm weather is here. Our job of feeding bees is done, right?

Maybe and maybe not. In my beekeeping class, I encourage my students to monitor their colony progress throughout the Summer. Of course, I would much rather have my bees collecting natural nectar and making honey. It is better nutrition than anything I can provide.

However, what often happens in my area is that the natural nectar sources dry up. The hot months of Summer do not provide enough nectar to encourage colony build up. Resources are limited and the honey bee colony does not have what it needs to grow.

Meanwhile, the beekeeper may think all is well inside the beehive. A late Summer or early Fall inspection reveals a hive that is not prepared for Winter. Perhaps only half the frames have comb and bees. It is more difficult to get bees to produce comb in the second half of the year. The bees know Winter is coming and there is no use to build comb without food to put in it.

The Keys to Success in Feeding New Packages of Bees

The most common problems beekeepers face is not feeding enough (keeping the feeder full) and stopping too soon.  If you live in an area that experiences summer drought (like me), the bees will not have nectar to collect.  You think they are fine because the weather is warm and things are blooming but it is a nectar desert out there.

Use a feeder large enough to last until you have time to refill.  The beekeeper can avoid the problem of unprepared Fall colonies by monitoring the needs of the new package colony.

Most beekeepers know to feed a packages of bees in the beginning. Once natural forage causes the bees to ignore their feeder, take it away. BUT, in a few weeks (2-3) offer the feeder again. If the bees don’t want the sugar water, remove the feeder again.

Continue to periodically offer the feeder until the bees have completed all of their hive boxes.

How many boxes you use for your beehives will depend on your climate and preference. Regardless of the size or number of boxes on the hive, your bees need enough frames of honey to survive the Winter.

This video was shot for feeding in the Spring after a killing frost but the idea applies any time of year.



Master Beekeeper, Charlotte Anderson shares her love of all things honeybee. She helps others become better beekeepers and teaches new beekeepers how to get started. Her mission is spreading awareness of the importance of honey bees. She is a former Beekeeper of the Year in South Carolina.


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