Knowledgebase
Feeding bees old honey #916552
Asked September 05, 2025, 11:23 AM EDT
Ottawa County Michigan
Expert Response
Yes, you can feed crystallized honey to your bees. Bees can't easily move crystallized honey. You may consider warming it to liquefy it before feeding it to the bees. You can also mix it with warm water, and the bees can dry it out. Just make sure not to use too much water or give the bees too much watered-down honey at a time, as it may ferment.
You shouldn't feed honey from unknown sources or from your colonies if they were sick with American foulbrood disease, as the spore can persist in honey.
I recommend feeding the crystallized honey inside the hive. If you feed the honey outside of the hive, bees may rob it and the interaction of bees from multiple hives may lead to disease transmission.
Happy beekeeping!
