Feeding Bees In The Spring

In cold climates like ours, bees are without nectar and pollen from mid fall till spring. They rely on their honey and food stores from the season before to sustain them through the long, cold winter months and to help them kickstart their spring brood building.

Many beekeepers, us included, choose to feed their bees in the spring to ensure hive survival.

Trust me, the $20 bucks in sugar each hive takes down is a pittance compared to the price of bees and lost production!

Jump to:

• What To Feed Bees
• When To Start Feeding
• How To Feed Your Bees
• When to Stop Feeding Your Bees
• Spring Feeding Saved One Of Our Hives
• Thoughts from the Homestead Apiary
• Comments

What To Feed Bees

Spring feeding can be an important management role in beekeeping, helping your hives recover from winter and preparing them for a productive season. What you choose to feed your bees depends on your specific goals—whether you're aiming for strong colony growth or just providing a little extra support until natural forage is available.

If you're concerned about the hive's food stores, the easiest way to tell if they are running low is by checking the weight of the hive. Try tipping the box forward - a light box is an empty box! Alternatively, you can pop open the hive, if the temperature is cooperating, and do a quick visual inspection of the top frames - you can often see capped honey or uncapped empty frames.

Feeding to Boost Brood Production

After a long, harsh winter, colonies may benefit from a jumpstart to encourage brood rearing. If your goal is to increase population numbers early in the season—especially if you plan to make splits in early summer—you’ll want to feed both pollen patties and fondant (or dry sugar).

• Pollen patties provide essential fats, minerals, vitamins, and proteins, for brood raising.
• Fondant ensures that the bees have a consistent carbohydrate source while waiting for nectar flow to begin.

This feeding strategy can be particularly beneficial if your bees had low stores going into winter or if spring conditions are unpredictable and slow to warm up.

Feeding to Supplement Hive Stores

If your primary goal is to simply support your colonies until natural nectar and pollen sources become available, feeding a light sugar syrup is a great option. This helps the bees build up energy reserves, so they can start foraging and expanding their hive as soon as flowers bloom.

Making Spring Sugar Syrup

Making spring syrup is so easy - it's simply 1:1 sugar to water by weight.

1. Heat the water to a bare simmer (but do not boil).
2. Stir in the sugar until fully dissolved.
3. Allow to cool before feeding to the bees.

When To Start Feeding

As with most things in beekeeping, timing depends on the weather, rather than the calendar.

We aim to start feeding our bees syrup once the winter cozys come off, the daytime temps are above 50f /10C, and nighttime temperatures are above freezing for a week or so. In our apiary, this timing varies from year to year—some springs, we begin feeding in early April, while in colder years, we may not start until mid-May.

Signs It’s Time to Feed Syrup:

✅ Daytime temperatures consistently above 50°F (10°C)
✅ Nighttime temperatures staying above freezing for at least a week
✅ Winter wraps/cozies are coming off
✅ Limited natural nectar or pollen available

Feeding Pollen Patties And Fondant

Kevin and I also like to give our bees a boost during an early spring warm spell, before they're ready for syrup, by placing pollen patties and fondant in the hives. However, this does require close monitoring—once you start supplemental feeding, you need to keep it consistent until natural food sources are available.

I typically check the hives every 5-7 days, weather permitting, to see if they need more feed. If the bees are rapidly consuming the pollen patties and fondant, I’ll add more to keep up with demand.

How To Feed Your Bees

The best feeding method depends on what feed you're providing to your bees. Different feeds require different placement within the hive to ensure easy access and proper consumption.

Feeding Pollen Patties

Pollen patties are super easy to give to the hive. They come covered in a thin layer of paper, which the bees will chew through as they consume the patty.

• Placement: Simply place the pollen patty directly on top of the brood frames inside of the inner cover.
• Tip: Check weekly to see how quickly the bees are consuming the patty and replace as needed.

Feeding Fondant

Fondant is an excellent carbohydrate source, especially when temperatures are still too cold for liquid syrup. This year, we’re using a specific brand that instructs us to cut a hole about the size of the logo into the package and place it face down over the cluster.

• Placement: Fondant should be positioned directly on top of the cluster, on top of the brood frames inside the inner cover, ensuring easy access for the bees.
• Tip: Monitor consumption and replace as necessary, especially during extended cold periods when natural forage is unavailable.

Feeding Syrup with Hive Top Feeders

Once temperatures are consistently warm enough for the bees to process liquid feed, sugar syrup becomes the best option for supplementing carbohydrates. In-hive feeders are the most effective way to provide syrup while keeping it accessible and safe from robbing.

We use Ceracell hive top feeders, and they have been fantastic for our hives.

• How It Works: These feeders sit within a wooden frame on top of the hive. The bees can climb up into the protected feeding area, access the syrup safely, and then bring it back down into the hive.
• Why We Love Them: The design minimizes drowning risk and makes refilling easy without disturbing the colony.

By choosing the right feeding method for the season and your bees’ needs, you can help them build strong populations and thrive in the spring.

When to Stop Feeding Your Bees

Knowing when to stop supplemental feeding is just as important as knowing when to start. Overfeeding can lead to excessive syrup storage in the brood chamber, reducing space for eggs and larvae.

Important: Stop Feeding Before Adding Honey Supers

🚨 Do NOT feed bees syrup or pollen substitutes once honey supers are on!

If you continue feeding while honey supers are installed, the bees may store sugar syrup in the honey frames, contaminating your honey harvest.

Chances are your bees will find natural forage and stop taking syrup or other feed long before the main nectar flow. Once dandelions, fruit blossoms, or other early nectar sources bloom, most colonies will prefer fresh nectar over sugar syrup.

Signs It’s Time to Stop Feeding:

✅ Consistent Natural Nectar Flow – If you see bees actively bringing in nectar and pollen, it’s a sign they are finding enough food on their own. Observe your bees for pollen pants and the surrounding area for early blooming flowers like dandelions and other wild flowers.
✅ Syrup or Pollen Patties Are Being Ignored – If bees stop consuming the food you provide, it’s a clear signal that they have found better sources.
✅ Hive Weight Feels Good – During routine checks, gently lift the hive (from the back) to assess its weight. A well-stocked hive will feel noticeably heavier.
✅ Strong Colony Growth – If your colony is building up well, has capped brood, and is expanding into available frames, they likely no longer need supplemental feeding.

Exceptions: When You Might Need to Continue Feeding

🔸 Late Cold Snaps or Poor Weather – If a sudden freeze or prolonged rain prevents foraging, you may need to offer food again temporarily, especially to weaker hives.
🔸 Weak Colonies or Late Swarms – If a hive is struggling or you have a late-season swarm that needs to build up resources, continue feeding until they can sustain themselves.
🔸 Drought Conditions – If wildflowers and nectar sources are scarce due to dry weather, feeding may be necessary until conditions improve.

Supplies for Spring Feeding

• Ceracell Hive Top Feeder – Excellent for easy, low-disturbance syrup feeding.
• Pollen Patties – for boosting early brood production.
• Fondant – for cold-weather carbohydrate supplementation.

Spring Feeding Saved One Of Our Hives

During our first winter, we nearly lost a hive!

It had gone into winter strong, but despite our dry climate, moisture issues took a toll. When we finally got a chance to do a full spring inspection, we found the hive in rough shape—moldy frames, a pile of dead bees, and a struggling colony.

We immediately removed and replaced the affected frames with drawn comb, and started a feeding regimen of pollen patties and fondant.

The results were incredible. The hive rebounded quickly and went on to become one of our strongest colonies of the season—even producing our best split that summer!

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Thoughts from the Homestead Apiary

Every spring, as we check our hives for the first time after winter, there’s a mix of excitement and a little anxiety. Did they make it? Are they strong? What do they need from us to thrive?

Spring feeding isn’t just about giving bees food—it’s about setting them up for success. Some years, they barely touch the syrup before the dandelions bloom, and other years, they rely on every bit of support we provide. It all depends on the weather, the nectar flow, and the unique needs of each hive.

We’ve learned that paying attention and adapting is the key to good beekeeping. Feeding in the spring is a tool, not a rule—it helps bridge the gap when nature isn’t quite ready yet. But when the bees show us they’re ready to forage on their own, we step back and let them do what they do best.

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