We have had some extraordinarily warm and unseasonable weather in Iowa lately. And it hasn’t gone unnoticed by my bees.

They have been put in full force as temps rise to the 50s, 60s and even 70s during the last couple weeks. As I explained earlier, the primary purpose of these mid-winter flights has been to poop. But I am sure that while they’re out it has been tempting to look for food anywhere they can find it. Usually this time of year in Iowa, we have snow on the ground and a lot of frost in the ground. I doubt that much is pollinating – maybe a few pine trees, but not much else. 

So from a bee’s perspective, finding food in Iowa in February is akin to dumpster diving.

Believe me, they’ve been looking EVERYWHERE! First, I get a text from my neighbor. Bees have almost covered her freshly filled bird feeder. Within five hours, it’s empty. That’s right, EMPTY!

We are talking sunflower seeds, millet, cracked corn, things I didn’t even know my bees can lift, let alone get into their tummies. Honestly, these bees are like hungry teenagers, glomming onto anything they can find.

A bee friend said he had heard of this happening. The bees were looking for the corn fines, the smallest particles of corn. Hmmm….corn-flavored honey?

I advised her that the bees would probably enjoy a bit of sugar water, mixed in a ratio of one part water and one part sugar. She put it in her bird path by the deck and spent the rest of the afternoon refilling it as the bees waited for their turn at the trough. 

I am sure they loved it. I feed sugar water to my bees in the spring and fall while the night-time temps are above freezing. It is a good way to maintain a hive when Mother Nature’s nectar flow hasn’t started or is beginning to taper off. I don’t usually condone a community feeding station because bees can get pretty feisty fighting off bees from other hive, but it probably doesn’t hurt to have an occasional treat, like this sugar-laden bird bath.

And it was pretty entertaining, my neighbor reported.

I am feeding winter patties to my bees right now. They are a flat, Play-Doh-like patty that has lots of sugar and some protein for the bees to munch on. They are laid flat on top of the frames so the bees do not even need to leave the hive to get it. The bees will chew through the wax paper that covers the patties, and freezing is not a problem.

When I checked today, the patties I gave them two weeks ago were gone from every hive except one. I figure that hive is still living off its honey stores from last fall, which is a good thing.

As I keep saying, it’s always something with these bees. The weather does not follow a set schedule, and neither do my bees.