Here’s a great video from Georgia beekeeper John Pluta, showing exactly how he mixes sugar syrup to top up feed his bees in the spring and fall.
In the summer time, your bees should have a plentiful supply of nectar and pollen from flowers and trees. But in the fall, after you have harvested the honey, you need to be sure that they have enough stores to keep them going through the winter. The way you do this is by feeding them sugar syrup, which they take down into the hive, store and cap, in just the same way they do with nectar to make honey.
In the spring time, when the bees are starting to get active but before there is a plentiful supply of nectar, the bees may also need top up feeds to keep them going until there is sufficient available for them outside the hive. This top up feeding is an essential part of beekeeping – without enough food, your bees will simply starve. Aside from pests and disease, this is one of the biggest risks your bees will face, and it’s part of good beekeeping management to make sure that this does not happen.