Sugar candy for the bees

I thought I should feed Olea's hive as well.  It seemed that the way to do so was to use sugar candy.  An online search gave me several recipes for bee candy, all of which involved boiling sugar in water until it was a certain degree.  I could not decide whether to make a fondant (234 degrees) or hard (250 degrees), so I aimed for in between.
First step: a trip to Costco for sugar.

Then I prepared a bunch of paper plates with a thin coat of canola oil.

I put a couple of cups of water in a pot and added lots of sugar.  I did not measure it but I believe it was over five pounds.  It takes a long time for the temperature to reach 240 degrees.

I ladled the hot syrup into the plates and waited for it to cool.

When it had cooled, it was the consistency of sticky jello.  It was then that I read that one has to beat the hot syrup in order to make fondant.  Ah well, it does pay to read instructions.
I decided to experiment with the the sugar gel and yesterday put one in Olea's hive and one into #1.

The plate of gel in #1

A second plate in the top bar hive

Then last night, I scraped all the gel back into a pot and boiled until a bit over 250 degrees and ladled the syrup into oiled plates.  It cooled hard and I was able to remove the discs and stack them in a plastic bag.
I went back today to check on things.  #1 had not done so well, but Olea's had gone to town.

Three bees dead and stuck in the partially granulated gel

Most of the sugar was gone.  They were still at work on the granulated sugar.  There were several bees that were stuck in the sugar and dead or dying

I put some of the hard candy by the opening in #1 but the bees paid it no attention, so I put it on top of the frames beneath the Vivaldi box.

You can also see the Apivar strips held up by nails

About 5 minutes after closing the hive

Since #2 and 3 had been going through the hole to get into the top feeder (remember #1 had an entrance feeder), I put the candy partially over the hole.

A couple of minutes later

I took a look in the window of Olea's and saw many bees running around with pieces of candy in their mandibles.
I think the hard candy is a success.

No honey for the bees, either

This past week I took a look into hives #2 and 3.  There was a good brood pattern, but no honey!  I recall that there had been a few frames with capped honey in the deep boxes but the bees must have eaten it all.
It has been a poor summer for honey production because of the drought.  I heard a report from the Beekeepers Guild that no one is getting honey this fall.  I thought the girls would do okay if I took only the honey in the supers, but I guess I was mistaken.  So the poor bees must be hungry.
I made up some 1:1 sugar syrup and put the top feeders into 2&3.  Since I only have 2 top feeders, I put the entrance feeder in #1.  The bees emptied both top feeders, a half-gallon, in less than one day and I have been filling them daily for the past 3 days and the entrance feeder twice a day.  Today, it looks like they may have slowed down a bit. 
I also put the entrance reducers in to help control robbing.  In the next days I will make a sugar cake to feed the top bar hive, assuming that it too has a honey shortage even though I did not take any from it.  Time to go to Costco for a 50-pound sack of sugar.
The bees are going regularly to the dish I have for water supply.  I put sand in it over the rocks and pebbles.  I have to keep an eye on it and keep it moist.

No honey harvest from Olea's hive... yet

A few days ago I looked into Olea's top bar hive hoping to get some more honey.  Most of the two gallons we got from the other hives is going into wedding favors.  I started from the end away from the entrance.  My books say any honey after bar 12 can be harvested, but there was little or no ripe honey.  I did see a few brood cells on bar 14.  I was surprised to see brood extending so far into the box.  Then I saw the queen on bar 13.  I wondered if all the honey was in the front of the box and just how many bars had brood.  I took out the first two bars.  Bar 1 was only about half-length.  Both 1 and 2 had capped honey and I saw some brood on one side of 3 but did not take it out.  So the area of brood has not yet contracted.  It is possible that in the fall there will be some honey to harvest, but I am not counting on it.
I took a look into the nuc and it is stable.  There still is not comb drawn on two of the frames.
I put Apivar strips into hives #1,2 & 3.  They will stay in for 6-8 weeks.  I am investigating how to use the Apivar in the top bar.  Since there is a heavy mite infestation in the other hives, I am assuming that the top bar should be treated as well.
Sorry, no photos today.