Beecomplet® individual bag 1kg

01 · SPRING OR AUTUMN?

It is not a wintering feed: it is support when the forage fails

The most repeated question. The Spring version is for when the colony wants to build up, there is warmth and nectar is missing: it backs population growth. The Autumn one is for when forage is fading but there are still mild days, and the aim is to prepare the winter bees. Neither is a feed for closed wintering: in the cold the colony will not go up for liquid — that is paste or fondant territory.

02 · IT IS A SYRUP

Few cuts, or the bees drown inside the bag

It is liquid, not paste, and that changes how it goes on. Lay the bag over the frames and make a few small cuts on the upper face, just enough for them to draw from — with the bag wide open the bees get in and do not get out. And make them once it is in place: a pierced bag is awkward to carry and will spill before you arrive. If you would rather not rely on that, pour it into a feeder with floats.

03 · HEADROOM AND VOLUME

Three centimetres thick, and a kilo is not a litre

Before ordering, check whether you have room between the frames and the crown board: the bag stands about three centimetres proud and on some hives the lid no longer closes over it. An empty super or a top feeder solves it. And a sum that surprises anyone pouring it out: a kilo of syrup is not a litre, because it is considerably denser than water and takes up less room than expected.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

The maker's guidance is a maximum of two bags per hive, with 15 to 30 days between them. It is not a cheap substitute for home-made syrup: what it adds beyond sugar are plant extracts. Nor does it replace pollen — if protein is short, a protein patty goes alongside. And do not feed during a flow if you will harvest that honey.