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I am a feeder.
There, I’ve said it.
Human or animal, I am one of those people who is always making something delicious to nourish another creature. Walk past my front door and you will be hypnotised by aromas of home-cooked deliciousness. Feeding others is, in my opinion, one of the great joys of life.
So naturally, when I became a beekeeper, I started wondering… Can I feed the bees? And it turns out, feeding honey bees is a little more complicated than putting out a bowl of sugar.
Bees need a balanced diet too
Long before I became a beekeeper, I was already planting patches of nectar-rich flowers for the bees. I loved watching them buzzing from flower to flower, collecting their precious resources.
But once I started keeping bees, I discovered just how important nutrition is to a honey bee colony.
Just like us, bees need a plentiful supply of different resources to stay healthy. Their diet revolves around three essentials:
Water, Pollen & Nectar
And these resources are not all equal.
Bees are very discerning shoppers
Imagine walking into a supermarket with a shopping list.
You need protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals. You wander through the aisles choosing the foods that will give you what you need and there are A LOT of choices!
Honey bees are doing something remarkably similar.
They visit flowers looking for nectar, which provides carbohydrates and energy, and pollen, which provides protein, fats, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients needed for growth and development.
They even collect different types of pollen from different plants.
And bees can be very discerning shoppers.
You might have one flowering tree absolutely covered in bees while the perfectly respectable-looking plant next door is practically deserted - it's a bit like a new viral food trend with people queuing down the street for a hole in the wall bakery, while the café next door has three empty tables.
Not all flowers are created equal
One of the fascinating things about honey bee nutrition is that having flowers isn't necessarily the same as having good nutrition.
Different plants provide different quantities and qualities of nectar and pollen. Some pollens are particularly rich in protein and essential amino acids, while others are less nutritious. The same applies to nectar - some plants have particularly rich nectar, whilst others are poor quality.
This is one reason why plant diversity matters.
A garden, farm or landscape filled with a variety of flowering plants can provide bees with a much more continuous and varied food supply than an area where everything flowers at once and then… nothing!
For beekeepers, this is known as the nectar and pollen flow.
And then there is the dreaded…
Dearth
A dearth is a period when there simply isn't enough food available for the bees.
There might be very few plants flowering, or the weather might prevent bees from foraging. A long period of rain, cold weather, drought or extreme heat can all interfere with the bees' ability to collect food.
This can be particularly important at the end of winter.
As the weather warms, the queen begins laying more eggs and the colony starts preparing for the big spring population explosion. Suddenly, the bees need to feed lots of hungry developing larvae.
But if there isn't enough nectar and pollen coming into the hive, the colony can struggle.
This is where supplementary feeding can sometimes have a role for beekeepers.
The aim isn't to replace flowers. Far from it! The best food for bees is still real food collected from a diverse range of flowering plants.
Supplementary feeding is simply a tool that beekeepers can use when natural food supplies are insufficient.
And I've discovered a method that both my bees and I absolutely love.
Bee fondant!
Yes, bee fondant. Or sometimes I call it bee candy.
Think of it as a very simple, solid sugar food that can be placed inside the hive when bees need an additional source of carbohydrate.
I've tried various supplementary feeding methods over the years, but I particularly like fondant because it is easy to make, easy to store and - most importantly - the bees seem to love it.
And I love making food for them.
So, here's the recipe I've been using.
My Bee Fondant Recipe
Ingredients
2 kg white sugar
100 g glucose syrup
1 teaspoon lemon juice
500 g water
Just four simple ingredients - sugar, glucose syrup, lemon (yes this is a GIANT lemon) and water
Equipment
Metal saucepan
Candy thermometer – very important!
Wooden spoon or heat-resistant spatula
Electric hand mixer
Silicone moulds
Wooden chopping board
Baking paper
Equipment for making bee fondant - the Candy thermometer is very important
Making the fondant
1. Mix everything together
Place the sugar, glucose syrup, lemon juice and water into a metal saucepan.
Give it a stir to combine.
2. Bring it to temperature
Heat the mixture until it boils.
This is where your candy thermometer becomes your best friend.
You want the mixture to reach approximately 116°C.
This temperature is important because you're essentially making a sugar syrup that needs to reach the right concentration to crystallise into the lovely creamy fondant texture we're after.
3. Let it cool
Once the mixture reaches around 116°C, remove it from the heat.
Allow it to cool to approximately 70°C.
Don't be tempted to start beating it while it's piping hot!
4. Beat it!
Once it has cooled to around 70°C, get your electric hand mixer ready.
Beat the mixture on high speed until it becomes opaque, pale and creamy.
This can take a little while.
At first, you'll have a clear-ish syrup. Keep going until it transforms into something that looks much more like white fondant, otherwise the fondant will be difficult to store.
5. Into the moulds
Spoon the fondant into your silicone moulds.
Allow the fondant to cool and set completely.
Once cool, pop the fondant cakes out of the silicone Moulds and store the pieces in an airtight container, separating the layers with brown baking paper.
Then they're ready for the bees!
How I feed it to my bees
I use silicone hive mats on top of my brood frames. They help prevent the bees from building burr comb in the lid - and I've discovered they also make a very convenient platform for placing the fondant.
I simply put the fondant pieces on top of the hive mat and let the bees do the rest.
And they LOVE it!
Watching bees discover a fresh supply of food is one of those little beekeeper pleasures that never gets old.
Of course, I like to imagine that they recognise me arriving and think:
"Oh look! It's the food lady!"
Unfortunately, I don't think this means they won't sting me. So, despite my very optimistic theory about being loved for my sweet contributions, I still put on my beesuit before opening the hive.
But feeding bees isn't just about sugar
This is perhaps the most important part of the story.
Sugar is not a substitute for a healthy natural diet.
Fondant provides bees with carbohydrates - essentially an energy source. But it doesn't provide the complete nutritional package that bees get from natural pollen and nectar.
If we really want to help bees, the best thing we can do is grow more flowers.
Think about providing something in flower across as much of the year as possible.
Spring flowers
Summer flowers
Autumn flowers
Winter flowering plants
And don't forget about trees and shrubs. Some of the biggest bee food sources aren't tiny garden flowers at all - they're enormous flowering trees like eucalyptus that can provide an incredible amount of nectar and pollen when they bloom.
A garden full of diverse flowering plants is essentially a bee supermarket.
And unlike the human supermarket, there's no shopping trolley required.
Just wings.
A final thought from the food lady
Beekeeping has taught me that feeding bees isn't simply about making sure they have enough to eat.
It's about understanding what they need, when they need it and where it comes from.
A healthy colony needs access to diverse natural food sources, water and a safe environment. As beekeepers, we can sometimes lend a helping hand during difficult periods - but our ultimate goal should always be to support bees in finding their own natural food.
So plant the flowers, grow the trees, leave a little wild corner, let the cape weed flower.
And if you're a beekeeper and your bees are struggling through a period of scarcity, supplementary feeding can be one more tool in your beekeeper's toolbox.
Because let's face it…
Everyone deserves a succulent delicious meal. Even the bees.
Want to ask more questions?
If this kind of ecological storytelling fascinates you, I run workshops and incursions on:
Bees
Looking after nature
The food web
Biodiversity
Pollinators
Sustainability
and the incredible interconnectedness of our natural world
I’d love to share this wonder with your school, community group or organisation.
