Tips for adding fondant

Hi

I have placed an old takeaway container with a hole in the bottom containing fondant over the feed hole. However when I come to add more fondant I struggle because there are lots of bees in the way. I have tried leaving it exposed to the cold for a while and using smoke but they just won't leave the container. I don't want to shake them out as they probably won't make it home in the cold.

So when I top it up it has resulted in collateral damage with bees being enveloped by the fondant.

There must be a better way - any suggestions or tips?

Thanks

Place fondant in a piece of polythene sheet,(cut down supermarket bag), invert over hole.. When all used , move remnants to one side or remove and replace.

If you have two holes in the crown board then just leave the other one there and place the new tub of fondant over the other hole.

If you have one hole in the centre of your crown board then just move the container over so it only covers half the hole and place the new container over the other half of the hole, when the first containers eventually become absent of bees remove and place a fresh one in it's place

Feed a larger amount. When i need to (which is not often), I feed using cheap tupaware containers bought from any supermarket. Comes in a variety of sizes.

Larger amount, means you disturb less often. With experience, you can guesstimate how much fondant they will take by the size of the hive, amount of syrup they took and the weather in autumn.

Worst case scenario for giving them too much... you take it back off in spring.

Redwood's idea works but I do what peteinwilts suggests and I think it's better.
You can insulate round the container and leave the bees alone.

Firstly - You need to get another tub and fill it with Fondant but wrap the fondant in cling film before you put it in the tub - don't drill a hole in the bottom. Then, take the lid off your existing empty fondant tub and invert it over your crownboard and cover the hole you have in the bottom. Then ... make a couple of slashes in the cling film in your new tub so that the bees can get at it and invert it over your crown board. Slide the two tubs together so that they are both half over the hole in your crownboard. The bees in the empty one will, in time, migrate to the new tub and you can then just slide it right over the hole and remove the empty one.

Post edit
Ah .. I see Redwood beat me to it ... But the advice in the other posts for what you SHOULD have done ... are valid but a bit like shutting the door after the horse has bolted !

The other way of feeding fondant is to just wrap it in cling film and slap it straight on top of the frames under the crown board (if you have top bee space - if not you would need a thin eke).

i cut strip's out of bottom of Chinese takeaway tub.and all 4 side's..use a small eke .put tub as close to the center of bee's,direct on frame's. allowing for bee's .i found the more strip's cut out ,the more bee's got to it.hence more surface area for bee's. to feed on .no mad rush..when ,empty if any bee's inside just take lid of tip bee's back on to frame's.but this is just how i do it ,no problem's sofar.
take's about 10 second's .hive open close up..i use clear cover board.so as to work it out before i open up ..just the top not the whole hive..

All I do is press the fondant into small flat food containers (take about 500gms of fondant) place over the feeding hole. When nearly empty push anew filled food container so it is covering 1/2 the hole. Remove the old food container when empty. Using small flat food containers requires no cling film, and using smallish quantities the fondant does not dry out.

I did place a 2.5kg block of Ambrosia on my 2 smallest colonies directly over the cluster on top of the frames at OA treatment.

Sorry if I have repeated what has been said on other posts

Based on the understanding that, in cold weather, fondant should be provided as close to the bees as possible, to maximise its accessibility - I choose to put fondant directly on the top bars. Further, I try and arrange the fondant to cross as many frames (or rather 'seams') as possible - so that wherever in the hive the bees might be, they can have nearby access to fondant.

If a colony is needing fondant now, they will be needing a lot of it before 'Spring starts to spring' properly. Hence, I'd put on big chunks and an eke to provide space for the fondant. Yes, a bit of cling film on top helps to ensure it doesn't dry out and harden, which would make it hard for the bees to avail themselves of this emergency food supply.

Thanks for the tips. My insulation is shaped so that it fits over a single takeaway carton so I'll have to change so that I can fit 2 together - was told that it would be easy to top up a single one.

Thanks again.

DaveS said:

was told that it would be easy to top up a single one.

Click to expand...

It is - you just fill a second carton - put it on the crownboard and slide it over displacing the empty one. if there are any bees in there - just shake them out in front of the hive entrance, they'll wquickly go home. If it's so seriously cold that bees will get torpid that quickly, more than likely the bees in the hive will be in a tight cluster and you won't have any in the empty carton.

Spread out thin smear of fondant on narrow (2"wide) strips of cling film width of brood box.. 4 or 5 strips. Prepare these on kitchen table & keep flat.
Wait for calm sunny dry day. Quickly remove lid & crown board & place the strips (fondant downside) across the central frames. Close up quickly.
Bees will take all fondant down and remove cling film thru entrance. When you see bits of tatty film at entrance you'll know bees have taken all/most of fondant.
Repeat the process when you think necessary. This way no dead sticky bees. Good luck

Thanks, this is very helpful.

tobbias88 said:

Spread out thin smear of fondant on narrow (2"wide) strips of cling film width of brood box.. 4 or 5 strips. Prepare these on kitchen table & keep flat.
Wait for calm sunny dry day. Quickly remove lid & crown board & place the strips (fondant downside) across the central frames. Close up quickly.
Bees will take all fondant down and remove cling film thru entrance. When you see bits of tatty film at entrance you'll know bees have taken all/most of fondant.
Repeat the process when you think necessary. This way no dead sticky bees. Good luck

Click to expand...

Smear fondant on to cling film

I have amended my practise as follows:

take one supermarket thin poly bag as used to place loose veggies in.

Place a lump of fondant in the middle of one side of bag. Close and seal bag (tie ends)
Place bag on side on rolling board.
Roll fondant thinly to cover a large area of the bag - (it helps if the fondant has been kept in a warm room to make rolling easier.)

Slash one side of bag with knife and remove narrow strips all across bag.
Place bag on its uncut side.

Repeat for subsequent bags. Unused bags can be stored uncut.

Place bag on hive bars with slit side down.

Advantage: a controlled thickness of fondant over most of hive and far less mess.

Finally: wash rolling pin and board..

Fondant easier to roll if warmed (inside polybag) in microwave

Maybe..

jenkinsbrynmair said:

It is - you just fill a second carton - put it on the crownboard and slide it over displacing the empty one. if there are any bees in there - just shake them out in front of the hive entrance, they'll wquickly go home. If it's so seriously cold that bees will get torpid that quickly, more than likely the bees in the hive will be in a tight cluster and you won't have any in the empty carton.

Click to expand...

Just done exactly that on one hive at lunch time. As I'm working away for a few days couldn't wait till the container was fully empty (if empty then there are never any bees in the container).

Slid new one over hole at same time as removing old one and gently shook the bees out onto landing board.

Job done!