Sugar is not the perfect bee food. Honey contains micro-nutrients, and is already partially fermented. If we had enough honey, we would never feed sugar. And once a hive is established, there should be sufficient honey stores to get the hive through any likely downturn in nectar availability.
New hives are a different matter. New packages always need feed in the spring, since they have to build comb from scratch. Even later in the year, hives started from a package will need some help. So if we are going to feed sugar, what concentration should we use? Traditionally, a 1:1 sugar:water syrup is the standard spring feed. The bees use it for immediate consumption to power comb building. Since it takes 8 lbs of honey (or concentrated sugar water) to make one lb of wax comb, the energy demands are huge.
A tougher question is what to feed later in the year..... after the Summer Solstice. A 2:1 sugar:water syrup is traditional for the late summer and fall. It is more concentrated so the bees have less evaporating to do in order to store it for winter use. But what if you still don't have enough comb? Do you want the bees to use the feed to make more comb, or store it in whatever comb exists?
The seasoned beekeepers I have talked with seem to agree that 1:1 is the best choice. It is easier for the bees to evaporate it down for storage than it is for them to dilute 2:1 for consumption. So it's best to give them something that is easily used for either purpose. As usual, it's best to leave the decision up to the bees!
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