Ok great advise. Thanks. Been pretty busy around here but looking forward to catching up on your videos real soon. Just got internet so will be fun to see on the tv. I did put sugar in the old fondant bag that was in there so least I didn't waste it. Will have peak next week when it's going to be above 0.
Thank you Stewart. Never seen a colony in the winter. I was surprised how active they were, their location and just how many of them there were. I went into winter with a large colony on double brood which was packed with stores. I put some fondant in there, just in case, but after hefting every week I haven't got to the stage yet as to when I'm worrying about them being low on food. If anything I'm a bit worried that they don't seem to be depleting their stores quick enough to keep going over the next few months of winter.
Hi, My colonies vary so much. Some are very hungry and will eat everything I feed them and others barely touch the stores they have let alone any fondant I feed. The double brood colonies I have are fine and have plenty of stores so I'm in a similar position to you in that respect. If they are active and the hive feels heavy still then I would assume that they are able to move around for stores and can get to their Winter larder. If you are really worried, pick a warmish day, open up the top brood box and remove the middle frame, this will allow you to see down into the bottom box and also assess what stores are directly above them. My guess would be you won't have time to look because the bees will be up to chase you away and they are happy doing what nature intended which is hunkering down for the Winter and coming out strong in the Spring. Stewart
Hi quick question, the last way you did it, you gave them lots of space in the eek. Would they not start building that out? Or is their main focus just eating in winter? I've got one super on still and I want to give them feed. I've removed the crown board. Feel like I've created a problem though as they will all move into the super.
regardless of the feeder I seem to get drowned bees in syrup. Can I use fondant through the spring as I made a large batch. do they need 1:1 syrup to promote brood or wax building? Thanks
Hi Stephen, Regarding the feeder, you could try a contact feeder, this is the type that has mesh in the lid, make sure the lid is fixed on properly and when you invert it do so over a bucket to catch the excess syrup that runs out before a vacuum forms. then place it over the feed hole and it should be fine. I use Maisemore jumbo feeders and they seem to work fine without drowned bees so that's another one to look out for. The purpose of Spring feeding is to stimulate the queen into egg laying by imitating a nectar flow so the fondant may not be as effective. If I have fondant left over I put it in the freezer for emergency use or for the next Winter. Stewart
Hi Stewart. When would you put fondant directly onto the frames with an eke and when would you just put it over the crownboard? I'm assuming that if you have particular worries about a colony you would do the former so that that more bees can access it, am I right? Also interested to see you put it actually on top of the bees!
Hi Dorothie, Thanks for commenting. If the bees are isolated and the weather so cold that they are unable to move around I would use an eke and place the fondant directly onto the frame tops otherwise I generally put it onto the crownboard and the bees move to the fondant. I will wait for the cold weather and then record a video using an eke to feed fondant just for you :) Stewart
Thanks Stewart. Just been out to put fondant on one hive. It was a nuc but only expanded to 8 frames before winter. I filled space with insulated dummy boards. It feels a bit light on stores so I opted to put it directly on the frames in the end as weather forecast is brrrr! Bees were clustered in back corner. I do have some spare brood frames of stores, could I put them in or will they not move sideways to find it? It's a poly hive.
Hi Dorothie, The bees will move once the weather warms up a little but I would not open them up to put in more frames if you have already put fondant directly on top of them which is the right thing to do. Wait until they are actively feeding on the fondant and you are happy they are ok then you could remove some empty frames and put the food frames next to the cluster. Stewart
Hello Stuart. This is my first winter with bees. I have left the bees with seven frames in the super and they have stores in the brood box. I have put the queen excluder above the super and I have been feeding sugar syrup up to now. Is there a point in the year where you change to fondant or is it temperature led. If temperature at what point do you switch to fondant. Thank you for all the brilliant videos.
Hi Rhian, Thanks for commenting. Feeding bees can seem uite tricky but in reality they will keep taking down syrup while the weatehr is still fine. It sounds like you've got plenty of food ready for your bees and removing the queen excluding is spot on. I don't normally feed fondant until after the New Year but I do remove all of the feeders with syrup regardless of whether the bees have taken all of the syrup down or not as soon as the temeratures start to fall significantly. I think for me here in Norfolk it is likely to be the first week of November, but who knows! Stewart
what would they feed them back in the day when sugar was much more expensive than honey? would they just harvest less honey or bee keeping just wasn't possible in England?
Hi Mick, Yes an empty super would be just as good. It may be worth using a little insulation on top of the crownboard if you are in a particularly cold area but I've done just as you suggest without any problems. Stewart
Is using an empty super better as it means you arent breaking the crown board seal and exposing them? Or does this not matter?. Not sure if i should use an eke or empty super
@@TheNorfolkHoneyCo Hi Stewart, I'm using empties supers as I don't have ekes. I'm working with standard national boxes. What's the best thing to use to insulate a hive? Could I just cut a piece of polystyrene the size of a crown board and place it on top of the crown board?
What's the outside temp there. Just just took a peak in mine and fondant has all been consumed. In a panic I poured granulated sugar in its place. Good or bad idea. Waiting on getting more fondant.
Hi Jay, great to hear from you again. We are running at plus number daytime and sometimes a minus night time temp so it's not really Winter yet, think Winter might pass us by! If you have to feed in an emergency I would take a pack of granulated sugar in a paper packet and wet one side and then place this over the bees, I wouldn't pour the sugar into the hive. It might be a good idea to check the outside frames nearest the cluster to see that they have honey stores. Open the hive, locate the edge of the cluster and push your hive tool into the wax on the frame nearest the bees and see if it comes out with honey on it. Stewart
Hello, Stewart. I'm a first-year beekeeper in the US. I got a nuc in July and I've been feeding and babying them, hoping to prepare them for winter. Yesterday I put a chunk of fondant on top the frames and today I can already see that they've already taken to it. If I put fondant on the hive and the girls are already eating it, is that evidence that they are low on honey stores, or will they eat the fondant just because it's there?
Hi Stuart, whats the best tines to give the bees fondant? I'm a new keeper and still feeding syrup as I got my colony fairly late (early June). They have all but filled the brood box with brood and stores but realise I won't be supering this year.
Hi Patrick, It's called an Eke because it comes from the phrase "to eke out" resources. When beekeepers used skeps they would often put a smaller straw cap on the top and when it became nearly full the beekeeper would add a ring of straw to the bottom of the cap and it was the ring of straw that was know as an eke. I should have included that explanation in the video but thanks for asking the question. Stewart
Hi Stewart I'm seriously thinking of starting my first hive next year and getting into beekeeping I'm researching like crazy which includes watching your videos which are brilliant I must add. What is the difference between fondant and syrup or are they basically the same. Regards Richard
Hi Richard, Basically the same but with minor differences. Generally we feed the syrup in the active season and fondant over the Winter period when syrup may go mouldy. I also use fondant when queen rearing using queen mating nucs. Stewart
Hi Stewart, I have 2 hives currently on 8 frame langstroth brood boxes and come march I'm hoping to go to double brood boxes. should I put the new boxes with wax foundation underneath or on top and should I feed them to help them draw then out.
Hi Mark, Thanks for the question. A lot will depend on the weather conditions, I would be tempted to wait until late April and then do it. I would personally go with a Bailey Comb Exchange to encourage the bees up into the new box and feed lots of sugar syrup to get them to draw the comb as fast as possible. Stewart
Hi Stewart I have looked at the Bailey comb exchange method but don't want to remove the bottom brood box. I want to run on double brood boxes what would be the best method?
Hi Mark, Yes, sorry I didn't explain myself very well. Set it up as if you were going to perform the bailey comb exchange but don't remove the bottom box. If you move the queen up into the top box and put a queen excluder between the two boxes to keep her in the top box the workers will immediately start drawing out the wax foundation and then she will have more space to lay into. Once they are drawing out the majority of the frames you can remove the queen excluder. Alternatively, wait until there is a good nectar flow on and just put the empty brood box of foundation on top of the other brood box and let them get on with it. Stewart
Hi Stuart. You said you use bakers fondant, but I have read on other sites that one should not as it has ingredients that could harm the bees, or are they getting mixed up with the type of fondant that is used to decorate cakes?
Hi Allen, It's probably the same stuff but I've never had a problem with using it. This year I'm switching to a bee-specific fondant sold by Happy Valley Honey. www.happyvalleyhoney.co.uk It's called apipasta, Paul at HVH sent me some samples to try out and I have to say, although the samples were free for me to produce a video, the bees really took to it so I'm buying in more for the Winter. Stewart
Thanks for this video! I have a couple late season splits I have to supplement with fondant. How do you spell the “eek”? We call it a winter rim here in Canada and was curious the word you are using!! Many thanks!
Thanks great video really helpful for me as its my first winter approaching. One question though is that all the fondant youll need to feed or will you use more? Im still using sugar syrup and am not sure when i should stop as im concerned about condensation. Any advise would be great
Hi Stewart, thanks as ever, always looking forward to your videos through the weeks. A question, please - Situation is that I have perspex crown boards and can see one colony is much smaller in numbers than the other. Plenty of cappings on the inspection board, plenty frames of uncapped ivy away from the cluster. Still I'd rather have a beginner's insurance policy of fondant than take any chance, given that we are having cold but dry weather at the moment.. What is the lowest temperature you would risk opening the hive for, to do even such a rapid manouevre as this? Best wishes, Patrick
Hi Patrick, Thanks for commenting. I saw a colony exactly like that today, much smaller (two half frames of bees) than the rest in one apiary. Food is not likely to be the problem as much as the cold. Continuous cold temperatures on a small cluster will eventually drain them of warmth, if they are large enough to get through the cold weather they will be able to build up slowly. With it so cold it's not going to harm them if opened as they will be tightly clustered but don't break the cluster just put fondant on top of the frames above the cluster and close them asap. Cross you fingers, much like me, and hope for a warm spell to help them through, I suspect if it stays cold then they are unlikely to survive sadly. Stewart
Hi Conor, This fondant was purchased last Winter and because of the high sugar content isn't going to go mouldy or spoil. It was soft and pliable as the day I bought it. I think the biggest issue is that they can dry out. If a colony doesn't touch it the I re-wrap it and save it for another colony. If a colony partially uses it I cut back to fresh fondant and re-wrap it for another colony. Stewart
Hi stewart! how long one kilo of fondant would last for single broodbox colony?do you have to make trips every week to the apiray? I am also curious about honey many boxea you use for overwintering a colony?
Hi H.T., Difficult to say as each colony is different. Yes, I go to the apiaries each week. This year we will have around 120 boxes to overwinter. Stewart
Hi Chaitu, There are lots of different methods for increasing the population of a colony, the best way is to make sure you have a healthy queen, plenty of space and good food supply. Stewart
Hello Stuart, I am a noob @BeeKeeping, do I feed my honey bees with fondant or sugar syrup before winter? as they only have 2 full frames of honey stores? they were a nUC but growing slowly! Thanks.
Hi Kay, Sugar syrup now and fondant, if needed, over Winter. I've just discussed this on my podcast on the patreon page. www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney Stewart
hello im in nottingham, just starting to get frosts. just watched your vidio about feeding fondant. is it possible to add aBeeStrong suppliment to fondant if you warmed it and then fold the liquid in
You just crushed the bees with your fondant.. .. Why don't place the fondant on top of the beeless frames instead of crushing them directly? what a nonsense idea..
Thank you so much for that... I read a lot of books but nothing better than actually seeing how its done.
You are very welcome and thank you for the comments.
Brilliant, thank you.
Blessings of joy from Tipperary, Eire.
💖🙏🌻
Fantastic video. Bakers fondant is such a valuable commodity for helping bees through the winter.
Thank you Stuart. I shall give the bakers fondant a try. Great videos.
Im from maine. Thank u for this info.
Hello Maine :) I hope you've had a great beekeeping season.
Stewart
I'm a new Beekeeper. Got my bee's and hive in September16. Love your vid's very helpful and quite amazing! Keep up the good work :)
Hi Danny,
thanks for the comments and congrats for becoming a beekeeper. Where about's are you? UK?
Stewart
Thanks Stewart - step by step guides so much appreciated. Just about to feed fondant 1st Dec.
really informative. thankyou
Ok great advise. Thanks. Been pretty busy around here but looking forward to catching up on your videos real soon. Just got internet so will be fun to see on the tv.
I did put sugar in the old fondant bag that was in there so least I didn't waste it. Will have peak next week when it's going to be above 0.
Hi Jay,
Sounds quite frightening, me on a tv screen! Enjoy!
Let me know how you get on when you check the bees.
Stewart
Thank you Stewart. Never seen a colony in the winter. I was surprised how active they were, their location and just how many of them there were. I went into winter with a large colony on double brood which was packed with stores. I put some fondant in there, just in case, but after hefting every week I haven't got to the stage yet as to when I'm worrying about them being low on food. If anything I'm a bit worried that they don't seem to be depleting their stores quick enough to keep going over the next few months of winter.
Hi,
My colonies vary so much. Some are very hungry and will eat everything I feed them and others barely touch the stores they have let alone any fondant I feed. The double brood colonies I have are fine and have plenty of stores so I'm in a similar position to you in that respect. If they are active and the hive feels heavy still then I would assume that they are able to move around for stores and can get to their Winter larder.
If you are really worried, pick a warmish day, open up the top brood box and remove the middle frame, this will allow you to see down into the bottom box and also assess what stores are directly above them. My guess would be you won't have time to look because the bees will be up to chase you away and they are happy doing what nature intended which is hunkering down for the Winter and coming out strong in the Spring.
Stewart
Hi quick question, the last way you did it, you gave them lots of space in the eek. Would they not start building that out? Or is their main focus just eating in winter? I've got one super on still and I want to give them feed. I've removed the crown board. Feel like I've created a problem though as they will all move into the super.
Can you use fondant that has been coloured ? For the bees ?
How long do I feed my bees fondant?
regardless of the feeder I seem to get drowned bees in syrup. Can I use fondant through the spring as I made a large batch. do they need 1:1 syrup to promote brood or wax building? Thanks
Hi Stephen,
Regarding the feeder, you could try a contact feeder, this is the type that has mesh in the lid, make sure the lid is fixed on properly and when you invert it do so over a bucket to catch the excess syrup that runs out before a vacuum forms. then place it over the feed hole and it should be fine. I use Maisemore jumbo feeders and they seem to work fine without drowned bees so that's another one to look out for.
The purpose of Spring feeding is to stimulate the queen into egg laying by imitating a nectar flow so the fondant may not be as effective. If I have fondant left over I put it in the freezer for emergency use or for the next Winter.
Stewart
Hi Stewart. When would you put fondant directly onto the frames with an eke and when would you just put it over the crownboard? I'm assuming that if you have particular worries about a colony you would do the former so that that more bees can access it, am I right? Also interested to see you put it actually on top of the bees!
Hi Dorothie,
Thanks for commenting.
If the bees are isolated and the weather so cold that they are unable to move around I would use an eke and place the fondant directly onto the frame tops otherwise I generally put it onto the crownboard and the bees move to the fondant. I will wait for the cold weather and then record a video using an eke to feed fondant just for you :)
Stewart
Thanks Stewart. Just been out to put fondant on one hive. It was a nuc but only expanded to 8 frames before winter. I filled space with insulated dummy boards. It feels a bit light on stores so I opted to put it directly on the frames in the end as weather forecast is brrrr! Bees were clustered in back corner. I do have some spare brood frames of stores, could I put them in or will they not move sideways to find it? It's a poly hive.
Hi Dorothie,
The bees will move once the weather warms up a little but I would not open them up to put in more frames if you have already put fondant directly on top of them which is the right thing to do. Wait until they are actively feeding on the fondant and you are happy they are ok then you could remove some empty frames and put the food frames next to the cluster.
Stewart
Some of the beekeepers in the southeast USA, like to put handfuls of marshmallows in their feeders.
What is the minimum outside temperature that you would suggest having before removing the crown board to feed?
Hello, did you remove the queen excluder for winter, many thanks.
Hi Tilly,
Yes I always remove the queen excluders from all of my hives over Winter.
Stewart
Thanks Stewart, that's perfect!
Hello Stuart. This is my first winter with bees. I have left the bees with seven frames in the super and they have stores in the brood box. I have put the queen excluder above the super and I have been feeding sugar syrup up to now. Is there a point in the year where you change to fondant or is it temperature led. If temperature at what point do you switch to fondant. Thank you for all the brilliant videos.
Hi Rhian,
Thanks for commenting.
Feeding bees can seem uite tricky but in reality they will keep taking down syrup while the weatehr is still fine. It sounds like you've got plenty of food ready for your bees and removing the queen excluding is spot on. I don't normally feed fondant until after the New Year but I do remove all of the feeders with syrup regardless of whether the bees have taken all of the syrup down or not as soon as the temeratures start to fall significantly. I think for me here in Norfolk it is likely to be the first week of November, but who knows!
Stewart
what would they feed them back in the day when sugar was much more expensive than honey?
would they just harvest less honey or bee keeping just wasn't possible in England?
Hi Stewart,
Can I use a Super box instead of an Eke or would that be a problem over winter with too big a gap between the frames and the roof? Thanks.
Hi Mick,
Yes an empty super would be just as good. It may be worth using a little insulation on top of the crownboard if you are in a particularly cold area but I've done just as you suggest without any problems.
Stewart
Brilliant, thanks for such a quick response
Is using an empty super better as it means you arent breaking the crown board seal and exposing them? Or does this not matter?. Not sure if i should use an eke or empty super
@@TheNorfolkHoneyCo Hi Stewart, I'm using empties supers as I don't have ekes. I'm working with standard national boxes. What's the best thing to use to insulate a hive? Could I just cut a piece of polystyrene the size of a crown board and place it on top of the crown board?
Hi Stewart thanks for the advice, what mix of syrup would be best?
I always tend to go for heavy syrup until the heat of the Summer kicks in so in Spring I would still prefer 2:1 syrup.
Stewart
What's the outside temp there. Just just took a peak in mine and fondant has all been consumed. In a panic I poured granulated sugar in its place. Good or bad idea. Waiting on getting more fondant.
Hi Jay,
great to hear from you again.
We are running at plus number daytime and sometimes a minus night time temp so it's not really Winter yet, think Winter might pass us by!
If you have to feed in an emergency I would take a pack of granulated sugar in a paper packet and wet one side and then place this over the bees, I wouldn't pour the sugar into the hive.
It might be a good idea to check the outside frames nearest the cluster to see that they have honey stores. Open the hive, locate the edge of the cluster and push your hive tool into the wax on the frame nearest the bees and see if it comes out with honey on it.
Stewart
Hello, Stewart. I'm a first-year beekeeper in the US. I got a nuc in July and I've been feeding and babying them, hoping to prepare them for winter. Yesterday I put a chunk of fondant on top the frames and today I can already see that they've already taken to it.
If I put fondant on the hive and the girls are already eating it, is that evidence that they are low on honey stores, or will they eat the fondant just because it's there?
What are the ingredients in the fondant? Thanks.
Hi Darren,
It's bakers fondant bought from a local bakery supplies company and the listed ingredients are Sugar, Glucose syrup and Water.
Stewart
Hi Stuart, whats the best tines to give the bees fondant? I'm a new keeper and still feeding syrup as I got my colony fairly late (early June). They have all but filled the brood box with brood and stores but realise I won't be supering this year.
Why is it called an eke? Thanks Stewart
Hi Patrick,
It's called an Eke because it comes from the phrase "to eke out" resources. When beekeepers used skeps they would often put a smaller straw cap on the top and when it became nearly full the beekeeper would add a ring of straw to the bottom of the cap and it was the ring of straw that was know as an eke.
I should have included that explanation in the video but thanks for asking the question.
Stewart
patrick baxter a
Hi Stewart
I'm seriously thinking of starting my first hive next year and getting into beekeeping
I'm researching like crazy which includes watching your videos which are brilliant I must add.
What is the difference between fondant and syrup or are they basically the same.
Regards
Richard
Hi Richard,
Basically the same but with minor differences. Generally we feed the syrup in the active season and fondant over the Winter period when syrup may go mouldy. I also use fondant when queen rearing using queen mating nucs.
Stewart
The Norfolk Honey Company that's great Stewart thank you 😀🐝
Hi Stewart, I have 2 hives currently on 8 frame langstroth brood boxes and come march I'm hoping to go to double brood boxes. should I put the new boxes with wax foundation underneath or on top and should I feed them to help them draw then out.
Hi Mark,
Thanks for the question. A lot will depend on the weather conditions, I would be tempted to wait until late April and then do it. I would personally go with a Bailey Comb Exchange to encourage the bees up into the new box and feed lots of sugar syrup to get them to draw the comb as fast as possible.
Stewart
Hi Stewart I have looked at the Bailey comb exchange method but don't want to remove the bottom brood box. I want to run on double brood boxes what would be the best method?
Hi Mark,
Yes, sorry I didn't explain myself very well. Set it up as if you were going to perform the bailey comb exchange but don't remove the bottom box. If you move the queen up into the top box and put a queen excluder between the two boxes to keep her in the top box the workers will immediately start drawing out the wax foundation and then she will have more space to lay into. Once they are drawing out the majority of the frames you can remove the queen excluder.
Alternatively, wait until there is a good nectar flow on and just put the empty brood box of foundation on top of the other brood box and let them get on with it.
Stewart
Hi Stuart. You said you use bakers fondant, but I have read on other sites that one should not as it has ingredients that could harm the bees, or are they getting mixed up with the type of fondant that is used to decorate cakes?
Hi Allen,
It's probably the same stuff but I've never had a problem with using it. This year I'm switching to a bee-specific fondant sold by Happy Valley Honey. www.happyvalleyhoney.co.uk It's called apipasta, Paul at HVH sent me some samples to try out and I have to say, although the samples were free for me to produce a video, the bees really took to it so I'm buying in more for the Winter.
Stewart
Thanks for this video! I have a couple late season splits I have to supplement with fondant. How do you spell the “eek”? We call it a winter rim here in Canada and was curious the word you are using!! Many thanks!
Thanks great video really helpful for me as its my first winter approaching. One question though is that all the fondant youll need to feed or will you use more? Im still using sugar syrup and am not sure when i should stop as im concerned about condensation. Any advise would be great
Hi Stewart, thanks as ever, always looking forward to your videos through the weeks.
A question, please -
Situation is that I have perspex crown boards and can see one colony is much smaller in numbers than the other.
Plenty of cappings on the inspection board, plenty frames of uncapped ivy away from the cluster.
Still I'd rather have a beginner's insurance policy of fondant than take any chance, given that we are having cold but dry weather at the moment..
What is the lowest temperature you would risk opening the hive for, to do even such a rapid manouevre as this?
Best wishes,
Patrick
Hi Patrick,
Thanks for commenting.
I saw a colony exactly like that today, much smaller (two half frames of bees) than the rest in one apiary. Food is not likely to be the problem as much as the cold. Continuous cold temperatures on a small cluster will eventually drain them of warmth, if they are large enough to get through the cold weather they will be able to build up slowly. With it so cold it's not going to harm them if opened as they will be tightly clustered but don't break the cluster just put fondant on top of the frames above the cluster and close them asap.
Cross you fingers, much like me, and hope for a warm spell to help them through, I suspect if it stays cold then they are unlikely to survive sadly.
Stewart
How long will the fondant keep for if you didn't want to use it all at once?
Thanks from conor
Hi Conor,
This fondant was purchased last Winter and because of the high sugar content isn't going to go mouldy or spoil. It was soft and pliable as the day I bought it. I think the biggest issue is that they can dry out. If a colony doesn't touch it the I re-wrap it and save it for another colony. If a colony partially uses it I cut back to fresh fondant and re-wrap it for another colony.
Stewart
Thank you
Hi stewart!
how long one kilo of fondant would last for single broodbox colony?do you have to make trips every week to the apiray?
I am also curious about honey many boxea you use for overwintering a colony?
Hi H.T.,
Difficult to say as each colony is different.
Yes, I go to the apiaries each week.
This year we will have around 120 boxes to overwinter.
Stewart
what i have to do to increase population in hive box
Hi Chaitu,
There are lots of different methods for increasing the population of a colony, the best way is to make sure you have a healthy queen, plenty of space and good food supply.
Stewart
i am a basic starter of honey bees. why to feed honey bees during winter?
Hi Chaitu,
We feed them to stop them starving during the long winter months.
Stewart
Hello Stuart, I am a noob @BeeKeeping, do I feed my honey bees with fondant or sugar syrup before winter? as they only have 2 full frames of honey stores? they were a nUC but growing slowly!
Thanks.
Hi Kay,
Sugar syrup now and fondant, if needed, over Winter.
I've just discussed this on my podcast on the patreon page. www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney
Stewart
Thank's Stuart.
hello im in nottingham, just starting to get frosts. just watched your vidio about feeding fondant. is it possible to add aBeeStrong suppliment to fondant if you warmed it and then fold the liquid in
Governor of Saint Andrew's Society Of Maine
lol
You just crushed the bees with your fondant.. .. Why don't place the fondant on top of the beeless frames instead of crushing them directly? what a nonsense idea..