There are several ways to feed bees during the winter months, both naturally and artificially. You can leave honey on the hives for the bees to eat, but selling honey is how we pay for keeping the bees and buying new equipment. So we at MisBeeHayVin choose to feed the bees sugar syrup, and there are several options here. Normally we feed them a 1:1 sugar to water syrup all winter and additionally supplement with a pollen substitute for vitamins in the spring, but this year we are trying something new… We are feeding our bees 1:1 inverted sugar syrup.
Normal table sugar is comprised of sucrose, a complex disaccharide, while the nectar that bees harvest and convert into honey is comprised of about 80% simple sugars or monosaccharides such as fructose and glucose. The good news is that table sugar is made up of a fructose and a glucose molecule chained together; if we break them apart, then we have a simple sugar to feed the bees. Simple sugars are easier for bees to digest and use for energy during the cold winter days.
The way to break them apart is pretty simple. We use a simple recipe of 1 cup sugar, 3/4 cup water, 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar mixed together and brought to a low boil. You keep it boiling for 20 to 30 minutes and then let it cool and you are ready to feed some bees!