Spring feeding

[Zante]

I'd like to try and harvest some acacia honey this year so I'd like to feed the bees beforehand to give them a kickstart and be ready for the flow.
How long before the expected flow should I start and stop feeding?
How do I evaluate how much to feed?
I was thinking that if I feed only syrup the foragers would concentrate on pollen and I wouldn't need to supply a substitute. Am I correct?
Any other info/advice that could be useful?

 

[Beefriendly]

Think bee live cycle...egg to emerged bee =approx 3 weeks.
House bee to forager = approx 3 weeks.
Time to lay eggs to increase forager numbers...your guess is as good as mine...but would say start stimulative feeding at least 2 months before expected nectar flow.

 

[Zante]

And when should I stop, to make sure that sugar doesn't end up in the honey?

Mind you, I have loads of honey left from the last season, I guess I could feed some of that in the last week...

 

[Murox]

I think the answer to your questions is “maybe” and “it all depends”.
In order to take advantage of early nectar you need bees, good local knowledge of forage, pollen bearing plants, and also of the weather patterns. Preparation for good colony strength in early spring starts the autumn before by making sure your hives are well stocked with stores in the autumn. Then in the early spring they can emerge already strong.

Bees that are hungry may NOT break the cluster and travel even a few centimeters away from cluster warmth to get food. Consequently, they die, but as long as syrup is above 10° C approx. they may well take it. (A poly hive and top feeder may have an advantage). Sometimes simply uncapping part of a frame of honey can have a stimulating effect. I have read somewhere that feeding a little pollen or pollen substitute when feeding light syrup for the purpose of stimulating queen laying is beneficial, but if the colony has enough stores it should build up well enough on its own. Timing is crucial with spring feeding as you don't want sugar in your honey, thats why you need good local knowledge of flora and weather patterns of course.

 

[mintmoth]

I'd like to try and harvest some acacia honey this year so I'd like to feed the bees beforehand to give them a kickstart and be ready for the flow.
How long before the expected flow should I start and stop feeding?
How do I evaluate how much to feed?
I was thinking that if I feed only syrup the foragers would concentrate on pollen and I wouldn't need to supply a substitute. Am I correct?
Any other info/advice that could be useful?

What comes into flower before acacia? Will the bees get a lot of pollen from it? Might the bees just accept and store the syrup and decide to stay home and not raise early brood, waiting for better pollen collecting weather?

It seems to me that feeding pollen substitute, or as Mike Palmer does, pollen sub in a gloopy syrup, is a surer way to kickstart brood rearing.