I went into this winter with a small colony that, we were told, not to be surprised if they didn't make it. Several beekeepers recommended this fondant so I followed instructions, slashed a hole to the fondant package and laid it over the opening of the inner cover. We also applied insulation to the Outer Cover and around the hive for the winter, which ran below freezing much of Dec. and Jan. [Northeast} When I sneaked a peek at the fondant every 3 weeks, I could see the bees had eaten a 3 inch circle through the fondant and were quite lively. I swapped out the fondant patty before it was fully consumed on a warm day in Feb. My only problem was getting the bees out of the fondant packaging. After installing a new patty, I left the old one near the hive entrance and hoped for the best. Sure enough, it was empty the next day. : ) Great product, would definitely recommend and buy again.

My bees love this stuff and gobble it so fast. I prefer to not leave the plastic wrapper on it and that seems just fine. It doesn't seem to linger long enough to get hard. I use it sparingly but last season it was a great supplement in the late winter/early spring as the bees were starting to build up their numbers but it was still cold. This year I'm embedding it into my winter candy boards. Not sure if I’ll leave the wrapper on it or not… thoughts? My pampered bees :) They deserve it!

This was so easy to use and made it for a quick winterization. Just a few cuts in the bag and place it in the hive fondant side down and close the lid.

Der Futterteig wird von meinen Bienenvölkern verschmäht, und zwar von allen! 4 Wochen habe ich die Beutel jetzt schon aufliegen und kaum etwas davon ist konsumiert. Hingegen nehmen sie die flüssige Fütterung umgehend an.Das Produkt scheint also eher nicht geeignet zu sein.

Update 2/14/2024:This is my second winter using Hive Alive fondant and patties as supplemental food in my hives. We've had a strange winter in NY, with warmer days that allow the bees to fly and some very cold spells. In our last warm spell a couple of days ago, I checked in on their stores of fondant and patties and found that they had eaten through almost all the fondant, so I replaced the bags with new ones to get them over the last few weeks of winter - and it was a good thing, since we've now had snow and it's very cold again. Anyway, I do feel that this supplement gives the bees something more than the traditional fondant I was making in the past. I don't think I will lose a single hive this winter (I have 5 now - I didn't lose any last winter either when I had 3 hives) and the Hive Alive is the only thing that is different as far as winter prep and care goes. The bees all look glossy and healthy, and I don't seem to have suffered much population loss in any of the hives, but especially not in the smaller swarm hives from late last spring. With the very changeable climate where they are spending more time active, I do think it's beneficial to make sure to supplement feed over the winter and Hive Alive seems to have truly helped my bees stay in good health! I also use the liquid additive in my sugar syrup when supplement feeding in spring and fall. I heartily recommend this product!Original post 7/2023I'd been using the Hive Alive liquid supplement for a year when they came out with the fondant and I figured I'd try it out for winter feeding instead of making my own candy boards last winter. The bees absolutely love this fondant, almost more than they like their own honey supplies, I think. I was a little nervous about and still don't love the plastic bag - Hive Alive recommends just cutting a slit in the bag and putting it facedown on the top bars - but I cut a fairly large rectangular hole out of the bag to make it easier for the bees to access and to exit. I also used a screened feeder top that I made with a couple of shims and some wide chicken wire to keep the fondant off the top bars themselves. They're the feeders I used when making my own fondant, so I just put the Hive Alive fondant (and a couple of Hive Alive pollen patties) on those.When you open your hive and you find a nearly empty plastic bag full of bees, it can be a little daunting to empty! On warmer days last winter, I would open the hives quickly to check their food supplies and as they ate thru the fondant, I would cut away more of the plastic bag. But that's my only issue with it, and I don't know if there's any way to improve it, other than just removing the plastic bag entirely, which seems difficult and more trouble than it's worth. The bees don't seem to mind and it may be that the plastic bag helps keep some heat in during winter months.As to the bee health claims that Hive Alive makes, I can say that I've definitely seen an improvement in how the bees look - they're glossy and chunky coming out of winter and I've had more success getting hives to survive the winter. It's hard to attribute this to one supplement obviously, bc there are about a million different factors that can cause a hive to die or thrive, but I do think it helps with overall bee health. You will still need to do mite mitigation and good winter prep and practice good hive care, of course. But I do think it's worth it to use this supplement.