In September, natural nectar is in sharp decline. The blooms are fading, and your bee colonies are beginning to prepare for their winter slumber. This is the time to ensure they have enough resources to survive the cold ahead.

What do your bee colonies need?

A healthy hierarchy of bees needs both food and space. In September, it's about:

• Ensuring sufficient honey stores – normally 20-30 kg per colony
• Making sure there are ample pollen stores
• Feeding with sugar water if natural resources are insufficient

When should you start feeding?

Waiting until late September before you feed is smart. If you start too early, the bees can become too active and use energy on more brood than necessary. Late September or early October, when flowers really begin to fail, is ideal.

Feeding methods

Top-feeders or sugar water in special feeder equipment work best. Start with 1:1 sugar and water, move to 2:1 later when temperatures drop – this reminds the bees of fall and makes them less active.

Here at Den Lille Hagen i Fjære, we carefully monitor our hives throughout September, so they produce high-quality honey that we look forward to sharing with our customers around Grimstad.