You may have heard of fondant and that many beekeepers are feeding bees fondant. It is the sugar putty on many decorative cakes you see in bakeries and like the Bee cake pictured above. It also makes a great food for honey bees.

The great thing about feeding bees fondant is that it is like the consistency of silly putty and very easy to work with. It's easy in both warm and cold weather. It can be fed directly to bees without the need of a feeder, as a patty that can be placed directly on top of your brood frames. The bees will find it instantly and begin using it as a food source.

Since it's a fairly thick food source for your honey bees, it's easy to add additional ingredients to it, such as essential oils or vitamin C and B-complex vitamin powder. These can be added directly to the recipe listed below. For ideas about which essential oils to use, check out our article on grease extender patties! Fondant is also the type of candy you find in the end of your queen cages when you buy a package or a new queen.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

4 cups granulated white sugar

4 cups of 2:1 sugar syrup

3 cups water

Directions:

Bring water in a large pan to boil.

Slowly add the syrup and the sugar granules to the boiling water, stirring until completely dissolved.

Continue to heat and using a candy thermometer, bring the temperature up to 238° F.

As soon as the mix reaches 238° F remove it from the heat and allow it to sit, in the pan, until cool enough to touch. It should still be very hot, but cool enough to touch without getting burned.

Once the mixture is cool enough to touch, begin stirring it with a heavy spoon or whisk to allow air to get into it. This will cause it to lighten in color as air bubbles become trapped in it, giving it the consistency of silly putty. It is during this stage that you would add vitamin powder or essential oils as high heat can destroy the benefits of these items.

You can now pour it into molds, shallow bowls, or paper plates lined with wax paper to allow it to cool fully.

Use:

Simply take one of your fondant molds and place directly on top of your brood frames or in your candy board feeder. It can also be placed on top of your inner hive cover so long as your outer cover seals well to prevent robbing.

Need a candy board feeder? Click Here!