Invert sugar syrup for bees

Invert Sugar Syrup for Bees is a high carbohydrate artificial nutritional supplement. The nutritional value of such feed is second only to natural honey. Insects are fed with sugar invert syrup mainly in the spring months – the introduction of such top dressing into the diet stimulates egg laying in the queen bee. In autumn, eating it helps bee colonies to better prepare for wintering.

Benefits of using invert syrup in beekeeping

In their natural habitat, natural honey serves as a source of carbohydrates for bees. It is rich in various nutrients:

• organic acids;
• amino acids, glucose;
• fructose;
• minerals.

The product is able to provide the bee family with enough energy and help the insects survive the winter. If there is no honey or not enough to feed the swarm, it may die.

The lack of honey most often causes the absence of honey plants, but sometimes the deficiency is caused artificially by sampling honey by the beekeeper. In this case, for the normal functioning of the family, it is necessary to provide the insects with another food source. To do this, various top dressings and artificial substitutes for nectar are introduced into the diet of bees in the apiary, which the insects subsequently process into honey. In particular, sugar inversion is commonly used to feed bees.

The following advantages of this method of feeding bee colonies can be distinguished:

• the chemical composition of such top dressing is as close as possible to natural honey, due to which the replacement of a natural product does not cause a violation of the digestive processes in bees;
• in the process of processing the mixture, there is no wear of working individuals, which often leads to their early death;
• after wintering, bees fed in autumn live much longer than their relatives, who ate ordinary sugar syrup;
• the product is widely used to strengthen weakened bee colonies and their further development;
• invert sugar syrup is the best replacement for low-quality honeydew honey, which is produced at the end of summer due to a decrease in honey collection;
• unlike many other types of top dressing, sugar invert retains its useful properties for a long time, which is why it is possible to harvest large portions of the product at once, gradually consuming the material later;
• honey obtained from invert is not subject to crystallization, and therefore it is always suitable for consumption by insects – bee colonies winter well on this type of food.

What is the difference between invert syrup for bees and sugar

The process of preparing invert syrup for feeding bees involves inverting sugar. Such a product differs from ordinary sugar syrup in that sucrose in it is broken down to the level of glucose and fructose. It is for this that food acids (lactic, citric), honey or industrial invertase are added to the sugar mass.

It is generally accepted that such carbohydrate top dressing has an extremely beneficial effect on the life of a bee swarm. This is due to the fact that insects spend less effort on digesting the product – sugar invert is absorbed quickly enough. Moreover, the consumption of ordinary sugar syrup causes premature depletion of the enzyme system in bees. This leads to a rapid decrease in the volume of the fatty body of insects and their early death.

With the introduction of sugar invert with various food additives into the diet of a bee colony, insects live longer and are more resistant to many diseases.

How to make invert bee syrup

Syrup for bees is inverted in various ways: with the addition of honey, industrial invertase, lactic and citric acid, etc. In this case, the raw materials used for the preparation of top dressing must meet certain characteristics:

1. Sugar for the preparation of inverted honey is used in accordance with GOST. Yellow or brown sugar (raw) is not suitable, as is powdered sugar. In this case, small grains of sugar will not be able to sink to the bottom and eventually become the centers of crystallization of the invert, that is, the product will be more susceptible to sugaring.
2. All feed additives must be of high quality.
3. Honey used as an additive to the product must be harvested no more than a year before the preparation of the top dressing.
4. Honey that has been exposed to high temperatures in the past should not be used.
5. In the same way, honey, in which foreign impurities are present, is unsuitable for the preparation of inverted top dressing.
6. It is especially important to observe the proportions of the ingredients used during the preparation of the sugar invert for bees. Insects do not respond well to feeding with too thick honey, as in this case they spend a large amount of additional moisture on splitting the product to a more dilute consistency. On the other hand, too liquid honey is also unsuitable for feeding bee colonies. The fact is that such food is more difficult for insects to digest, its assimilation requires a lot of time, which greatly weakens the swarm. In some cases, the bee colony may even die.
7. Invert honey should not contain any infectious agents, that is, it must be sterile.

Depending on what substance is used to prepare the invert syrup for the bee colony, the final product can vary greatly in its usefulness to insects. The following additives for the invert are the most popular:

1. Food acids. This is the classic version. Citric, acetic or lactic acid is added to sugar syrup. Such food is cheap, accessible and easy to prepare, however, its nutritional value is much lower than that of sugar invert, created on the basis of industrial invertase or honey.
2. Honey-sugar invert is more useful than top dressing with the addition of acids due to the high content of natural invertase in honey, which insects add to nectar. In addition to carbohydrates, this feed also contains amino acids, vitamins and mineral components.
3. Sugar syrup, inverted using industrial invertase, is considered the highest quality option for feeding bee colonies, which is inferior in its usefulness only to natural honey. The product is distinguished among other types of feed by a high content of nutrients and a deeper level of splitting of all its components.

How to Invert Sugar Syrup for Bees

Of great importance in the process of inversion is the proportion of the solution. Invert sugar syrup for bees can be prepared with the following percentage of ingredients:

• 40% (sugar to water ratio 1:1,5) – such top dressing is suitable for stimulating oviposition of the uterus;
• 50% (1:1) – an invert with such a concentration is used in the summer months in the absence of a bribe;
• 60% (1,5:1) – the product is poured into feeders in the fall to better prepare the bee swarm for wintering;
• 70% (2:1) – top dressing is introduced in exceptional cases in winter.

Regardless of which substance is used as an additive in sugar invert, the method of its preparation remains practically unchanged. Soft drinking water is brought to a boil and the right amount of raw materials is added to it. Then the solution is stirred until the sugar grains are completely dissolved.

How to make invert syrup for bees with honey

Honey is one of the most common food additives used in the process of making DIY bee invert syrup. With the addition of honey, the syrup is inverted according to the following scheme:

1. 7 kg of sugar is poured into 2 liters of water.
2. Then the thoroughly stirred mixture is diluted with 750 g of honey and 2,4 g of acetic acid.
3. Further, the solution is kept at a temperature not lower than 35°C°C for 7 days. All this time, the product is stirred 2-3 times a day.
4. When the foam subsides, and the amount of crystallized sugar is reduced to a minimum, the invert can be poured into containers.

Invert sugar syrup for bees with citric acid

Such a recipe for invert syrup for bees is quite popular:

1. 7 kg of sugar is poured into 6 liters of hot water.
2. The resulting mixture is thoroughly stirred and 14 g of citric acid is added to it.
3. After that, the solution is kept for 80 minutes in a water bath.

How to make invert bee syrup with invertase

The recipe for invert syrup for feeding bees based on invertase is as follows:

1. 7 g of invertase are mixed with 7 kg of sugar.
2. 750 g of honey is diluted with 2 liters of soft drinking water.
3. All ingredients are thoroughly mixed and 2,5 g of acetic acid is added to the resulting mixture.
4. The sweet mass is infused for a week at a temperature of 35°C. It is important to stir the mixture periodically, at least 2 times a day.
5. When there are no grains of sugar left at the bottom of the container, and the amount of foam is significantly reduced, this means that the inversion process is coming to an end.

How to make invert bee syrup with lactic acid

With the addition of lactic acid, sugar for bees is inverted according to the following scheme:

1. 5 kg of sugar is poured into an enamel saucepan with 2,8 liters of water.
2. 2 g of lactic acid is added to the solution.
3. The resulting mixture is boiled to a boil, after which it is kept on low heat for another half an hour. In this case, the mixture must be stirred from time to time in order to avoid thickening of the sugar mass.

After the top dressing is ready, it is slightly cooled and poured into the feeders in the apiary.

Rules for feeding bees with invert syrup

After preparing the sugar inverted syrup for bees, care must be taken to properly supply the carbohydrate feed. The product is introduced into the diet of bees according to the following rules:

1. If it is planned to introduce feeding in the apiary in large portions, for the first time it is poured in the amount of 0,5-1 l per bee colony.
2. Some bee colonies respond poorly to such top dressing – they slowly absorb the product, as a result of which it stagnates and deteriorates. This indicates that the portions are too large. To avoid spoilage of the product, portions are reduced.
3. In order to increase resistance to diseases, it is recommended not to overload the nests of bee houses with food supplies. It is better to feed insects in the spring – substitute frames, etc.
4. The bee swarm eats the cooled inverted syrup reluctantly. The recommended product temperature is 40°C.
5. To prevent bee theft, top dressing is poured in the evening hours.
6. In the fall, the mixture is placed in special feeders, in the spring – in plastic bags, which are sealed and placed in the hive on the frames. In this case, it is necessary to make 3-4 holes in them with a diameter of 0,3 mm. Through the holes, the bees will take food for several days.

Conclusion

Inverted sugar syrup for bees can be difficult to prepare – it is necessary to strictly observe all proportions, select high-quality raw materials, and also ensure that the temperature of the product during cooking does not exceed the established norms. In addition, the preparation of sugar inverted feeding is time-consuming – the process can stretch for several days. On the other hand, the efforts spent on making such food pay off in full – such food is only beneficial for bees.

For more information on how to make invert sugar syrup at home, see the video below: