Honeybees must have a sugar source (carbohydrates) as food to create beeswax for their hive and as an energy source for their everyday life.  They use beeswax to create the honeycomb for storage of brood, pollen, and honey.  During critical periods, such as when a new bee package has been installed or when the hive is being expanded, if the bees do not have a readily-available natural source of nectar, they should be fed a supplemental source of sugar in the form of sugar syrup.  This is necessary so the bees can secrete the beeswax from their wax glands and create the honeycomb, in which they can raise their brood and store their honey and pollen.

Click to see starved bees

Honeybees also process sugar syrup or nectar into honey, which is their primary food energy source.  This is important to maintain their everyday activity and as a food source for the queen and her developing brood.  In times of shortage, when there is no natural nectar available or when it is too cold to forage, the bees need a supplemental source of sugar, especially in the early Spring when their honey supplies get low.  Without ample honey in the hive, the bees will cease brood production and may even starve in large numbers (shown at left), eventually destroying the honeybee colony.

The Dual-Access Hive-top Feeder is an ideal hive component to use in a beehive to give the bees the supplemental sugar syrup they require at these times of critical need.  Plus, our Honey-B-Healthy feeding stimulant also makes a big difference in how quickly the bees will take the syrup and build out their honeycomb.

Dual-Access Hive-top Feeder
Honey-B-Healthy