It’s hard for me to believe, but in two weeks of weather that was only in the 60’s(F) most days, the ladies chowed through 
almost a half a tray of the candy I made them. Now, I’ve been known to eat my fair share at the table, sometimes with obvious consequences, but this… no, this is an impressive feat. They ate nine pounds of sugar. Eleven ounces each day. Almost a half an ounce an hour.
When I examined the candy box today, all I saw was a few shreds of tissue paper and happy, fat bees. Now I should point out that it’s about a week into October, and there just isn’t a lot of flowers left to pilfer on the Cape. There’s an occasional dandelion, and some clover flowers, but that’s about it. I think the candy I gave them, which I wasn’t sure they would even eat, was more of a primary food source than I was expecting.
So, my next move as a new beek, was to give them more. I may regret this, but it seemed like the right thing to do as I want them as strong as possible going into the winter. And yes, this means I am going to be feeding them every two weeks throughout the winter, or at least be checking to make sure they have a sugar supply. Hopefully as the winter kicks in, and they stop flying, they will eat less each day.
So much for the low-maintanance bees I have heard about over the winter.