Summer Trickle Feeding

For regions with hot, dry summers, ensuring that your hive has plenty of food available is critical. After you harvest, trickle feeding through the summer months is recommended if your hive is left with less than 30 pounds of honey stored in its second brood box.

Simply put, summer trickle feeding entails feeding a quarter to a half-gallon of 1:1 syrup each week rather than infrequent large amounts of syrup. The concept is that this will simulate a natural nectar flow and will encourage the hive to continue to grow or at least maintain during a time of year when they typically begin to decline in strength. This is especially true in regions that have very hot and dry summers with little nectar or pollen flow.

Now, this is not critical. If your bees are not located on your immediate property or you want to go on a vacation for a month, your bees aren't going to die if you don't practice trickle feeding. If this isn't a good option for you, then the goal is to feed your bees more syrup more quickly, until they have about 30 pounds of honey stored in the second brood box and two to four frames of honey stored in the lower brood box. This will ensure they do not go hungry over the summer. Check back every two to three weeks and feed to help maintain that 30-pound excess in the second box. Remember, a medium box completely full of honey is about 40 pounds, and a deep box completely full is about 60 pounds.

Watch as Blake shows us how to draw comb on new foundation using the trickle feeding method during what would normally be a no-production time.

Key Strategies and Benefits of Trickle Feeding 

• Busy Work: Keeping bees busy during summer prevents idleness. Busy bees are healthy bees.
• Healthy By Productivity: Engaging them in comb building enhances their overall health.
• Trickle Feeding Technique: Feeding approximately 1/4 gallon of syrup per week to the hive encourages bees to draw out new comb.
  • After honey has been harvested, adding a box of new foundation when trickle feeding helps utilize the bees' need to work, even when major nectar flows have stopped.
• Utilizing Existing Configuration: Depending on the hive's current setup, new foundations are added either on top or directly above the brood nest to promote comb drawing.
• Monitoring and Control: Regular hive-checks for pests like Varroa mites and ensuring the queen has space to lay are crucial.