Eric decided to feed the bees this morning while we have some clear weather. I ran outside in my pajamas to take a couple of photos and managed to get a few before the bees chased me inside. One barely stung me on my knee and another was trying really hard to entangle herself in my hair. Next time I'll wear my suit and try to get some better shots.

This first shot shows Eric trying to figure out how to best get into the weaker of the two hives. Because Autumn bees are desperate to find the last bits of food, bees can become robbers, taking food from weaker hives. Disturbing a hive will make a lot of bees fly, and you don't want bees from your stronger hive flying when you feed the weaker hive. In this photo, you can see that the bees are crawling out of the front entrance at the bottom of the two boxes.

The frame feeders we use are in the bottom of the two green boxes. In the spring, it is usually pretty easy to pull the top box off and pour in the sugar solution, but after a full season in their hive, the bees have glued the boxes and frames shut with a combination of beeswax and propolis.

In the fall, we feed the bees a sugar solution that is two parts sugar to one part water (by volume). This solution is a light yellow color naturally, and has properties close to honey. You can see the jug of sugar solution sitting in the foreground of the photo.

In the last photo, Eric has realized that he can't lift up the top box because the frames in the top box are glued to the frames in the bottom box. Instead, he cracks the propolis seals at all four corners and twists the top box to one side, exposing the frame feeder. Once he can see the feeder, it only takes a few minutes to pour in the sugar solution.

Because we're not sure if the weather will allow us to feed the bees again this winter, we set the remainder of the sugar solution out in a shallow dish for the foraging bees to find. They will bring it home to their respective hives and store it just as they would a flower nectar.

The high energy food will allow the bees to maintain a hive temperature of around 70 degrees through the winter. In spring when the queen starts to lay, the hive temperature will be raised to between 91 and 97 degrees to ensure that the brood develop correctly!