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You might read in THIS EARLIER POST that I work with bees. And after a crazy winter season, it was time to prep “the girls” for their “Spring cleaning.”  Basically, that means emergency feeding, as bees usually eat through most of their winter honey stores. What can humans feed bees in an emergency situation? Sugar, of course. Besides pollen, which is considered a protein source for the bees, sugar is pure energy for bees.

Usually, sugar syrup is the source we use for getting food to the bees. However, since the weather was still not stable, and it could possibly get cold in the next few days or weeks (living up North means cold can last well into April), I opted for the next best source–fondant.  Now, there are folks who might say to dump dry sugar into the hive. I’ve found that some bees don’t know what to do with it;  fondant definitely smells of sugar and since it’s “moister,” it’s more palatable. But it’s not so wet that it will wet the bees up, which is dangerous if it gets cold–the bees will chill and die.

I’m aware you might be asking yourself–what the heck is fondant? In a nutshell: it’s cake frosting, but the kind that rolls out and is sort of “doughy.”  You can find most of these in bakers stores or specialty grocery stores.  In fact, you can order it online through stores such as Wilton’s (www.wilton.com).  They also have a recipe for making fondant HERE (I omitted the food coloring and flavoring as this can adversely affect bees):

• 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1/2 cup Glucose
• 2 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening
• 1 tablespoon Glycerin
• 8 cups (about 2 lbs.) confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Makes: About 36 ounces of fondant.

instructions

Combine gelatin and cold water; let stand until thick, about 3 minutes. Place gelatin mixture in top of double boiler and heat and stir until dissolved. Add glucose, mix well. Stir in shortening; just before completely melted remove from heat. Add glycerin. Cool until lukewarm.

In large bowl, place 4 cups confectioners’ sugar; make a well. Pour the lukewarm gelatin mixture into the well and stir with a wooden spoon, mixing in sugar and adding more, a little at a time, until stickiness disappears. Knead in remaining sugar. Knead until the fondant is smooth, pliable and does not stick to your hands. If fondant is too soft, add more sugar; if too stiff, add water (a drop at a time). Use fondant immediately or store in airtight container in a cool, dry place.

Use fondant immediately or store in airtight container at room temperature until needed. If storing longer than 1 week, refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before kneading. Do not freeze. When ready to use, knead again until soft.
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You can use this recipe, or you might as well order the fondant straight, as Wilton’s carries it, and it saves you time.

In any case, once you have your fondant, you can separate it out into palm sized balls. You will then need to flatten them via a rolling pin, as they will go onto THE top of your hive frames (In other words, on top of the inside of your hive. This is much faster and easier than trying to pry through the hives to place it in the middle or bottom of the hive).

I usually place a sheet of paper underneath the fondant ball that is about to be rolled. This will virtually eliminate cleanup as the fondant won’t stick to anything but the wax paper. It will make it easier to transport each sheet of rolled out fondant.

Simply roll out the fondant as if you were rolling dough:

Do this until the fondant is relatively thin, but not enough that it is breaking apart when you lift:

You must make sure it is thin because the space in the hive is relatively narrow.

One large ball is enough to feed ONE hive well for a week or so and once rolled out, it will cover a good bit of the top of the hive.

If I have more than one fondant sheet, I just stack them one atop the other, each with the wax sheets seperating them. Before doing so, however, I make a small cut at the bottom of the wax paper, this will make it easier for the bees to tear through and eat the fondant.

The bees do tear the paper. Wax paper is harmless to the bees. I then lug all of these little fondant packages in a plastic bag, to the hives.

Here are our bees!

You can see the standard liquid feeder on the hive at the back. Hopefully you can see the bees flying at their entrance at the hive to the front.

Once you open the outer cover and inner cover, you can just set the fondant straight over the frames, being careful not to squoosh any of the little creatures. I have to say, it’s always rewarding to see them realize there is food nearby–especially sugar.  Here is a pic of “the girls” enjoying the fondant, as seen peeking through the inner cover of their hive:

And that, my friends, is how you feed fondant!

Now it’s time for me to get outta this suit!