Feeders

[colbees]

Hi my bees are coming April 22 and ive heard that i will need to feed them. Should i have an enterance feeder or top feeder? :?

[BrentX]

Top feeder over the hole in the inner cover is what I do.  I use an inverted mason jar with a dozen nail size holes in the lid, housed in a super over the inner cover.

There can be problems with robbing using the entrance feeders.  You may see wasps and other non-bees enjoying the feed.  A few visitors is not a big problem, but if another hive is near the bees might get into a full blown robbing event that could destroy your hive.

[BjornBee]

 8-)

[ajharwood]

The top feeder with the inverted Mason jar is good for temperatures above freezing.  If it freezes it will lost vacuum and dump cold syrup on your bees and kill them.  Division board feeders are good and top hive feeders with the floats are good too.  You can use both all year round.

[Michael Bush]

Most any kind of feeder will do.  I probably like the Boardman feeders the least because of robbing issues.  The frame feeders have drowning issues.  The inverted containers sometimes have leaking issues as the weather gets cold at night and warm in the day and the air inside expands and contracts.  My bottom board feeders have drowning issues as well, but at least they don't really cost me anything.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfeeding.htm#BottomBoardFeeder

[Robo]

As a fellow NYer,  I would definitely recommend an inverted glass jar over the inner cover opening.  Glass is more resistant to the temperature swings than plastic or tin when it comes to flexing and causing drips.   Freezing will not be an issue either,  as the syrup has a lower freezing point than water, and being above the cluster, the heat from the bees will also help.   The nice part about the inverted jar is the bees can access it and feed regardless of the outside temperature.

Here are my thoughts on the different feeder types -> http://robo.bushkillfarms.com/beekeeping/feeder-compare/

[BjornBee]

Hi my bees are coming April 22 and ive heard that i will need to feed them. Should i have an enterance feeder or top feeder? :?

There is are huge differences of the negatives and positives of various feeders. Your starting out a new colony right? On foundation I'll assume. And a package?  Your starting April 22 at  a place that will no doubt have some colder periods, especially at night. And last year, it rained almost the entire month of April. So feed is important. Place feed where the bees actually have access and a means of using it while in cluster is the main concern when starting a new colony.

So forget the boardman feeder, the top feeder, and what ever other options you may have regardling all the types of feeders you could use.

You need a feeder right above the cluster and the place that they will be using to draw comb and start brood rearing.

I use the empty box above the inner cover with a jar over the inner cover many times. Any concerns of dripping syrup can easily be eliminated by using very small holes. And I will say that for most who have drowned bees while using a lid with "nail" holes, that is probably the problem. I could not even find a nail small enough to give me a proper small hole. I actually use a pushpin that has a very fine point. And I hit it just to the point that the hole is started. You want VERY SMALL holes. Then it will work. Don't use a small nail, which produces much too large holes, then have syrup dripping on the bees, then claim this method is a bust. Take the method, understand what is needed to make it work, adjust, and make it work.

With the jar over the inner cover hole, the bees are below the feed, on the foundation, where they can draw comb, start brood, and benefit from being at the upper half of the box where trapped heat is most beneficial.

Every other feeder, front feeder, hive top feeder, etc., has issues in cold weather and does not benefit a newly placed package by having feed in direct contact with the cluster.

Use the jar placed right on the inner cover hole. Use small holes. And when you think they are small, use smaller holes. When you get the package, look at the holes in the feeder can. They didn't make those holes with a nail.   ;)

Good luck.

[Hemlock]

There are two types of Hive Top Feeder; One kind has the entrances on the sides and the other has the entrance in the middle, above the brood nest.  both come in wood & plastic.

The side feeders usually have a partition that allows bees access to the syrup but not the whole box.  The beekeeper can open the hive to add syrup without being exposed to the bees.  So you can add syrup without suiting up.  

The center feeders have versions with AND without the partition; usually a screen.  The bees sometimes build comb in the center feeders.  One then needs to remove the comb IF it is blocking the entrance for the bees.  It happens but not often.  

I utilize both and the bees seem to use them equally.

[CapnChkn]

I'm actually starting to think the problem with robbing increases with the number of hives around.  I made the feeders in the inner cover, and they take it grudgingly.  Then they take the syrup out of the entrance feeders like crazy.  My guess is the bees think the syrup is spilled stores, and are cleaning it up.

With three hives I haven't had any robbing after the initial problems I had last year.  All seemed intent on straightening out their business instead.  This is another year though.  I've been using the entrance feeders with 1/16 in (1mm) holes drilled in the lids.  I use jars 4 3/8" (110 mm) across with as many as 36 holes.  Each plastic jar holds around a half gallon.



As for the syrup dripping from the holes.  All the applied physicists on this forum will tell you liquids are pretty good about not expanding/contracting due to pressure or temperature.  The air in the jar will change dramatically.  So the bees sipping the syrup reduce the pressure on the inside of the jar, which then fills with air to balance that pressure.  That air is then subject to temperature change, contracting in the chill, drawing more air to balance the pressure, then expanding in the warmth, pushing the syrup out the holes.

Usually if the bees are in motion, the spilled syrup is cleaned up faster than it can make a mess.  If they're still clustered, it dribbles all over and makes a mess drowning the bees, attracting ants, and starting bee wars, the next project I have in mind if I can just figure out how to get the little helmets on them. :-\

[Bleemus]

Just to clarify some earlier posts. Inverted jar feeders don't use vacuum to keep the syrup from dripping. It is surface tension that is the physics involved. Tiny, tiny, tiny little holes work just fine.

That being said I like to use hive top feeders. Yes, they do build some burr comb in the middle section where they gain access but the number of bees that can feed at once is quite dramatic when they need it.

Best of luck!

[BjornBee]

I guess it should also be noted that a used jar is a whole lot cheaper than buying any other type feeder.  :-D

[FRAMEshift]

I guess it should also be noted that a used jar is a whole lot cheaper than buying any other type feeder.  :-D

That's true , but you still have to have a box around the jar.  But you are correct, that box can be used for frames when not needed for feeding.  Still, I prefer the Miller style top feeder.  We have switched over to the center entrance type, with screening to keep the bees out of the middle.  These are versatile and efficient feeders, easy to refill without disturbing the bees.  I like the divided chamber because you can fine tune the amount of syrup you add. 

The limiting factor for bees getting access to the syrup is the depth of the syrup.  When it gets too low, the bees can't reach it, especially if the feeder is sloped away from the entrance side.  With divided chambers you can get the same depth with half the syrup... if you don't need to feed very much.

In our climate, these feeders work as well as jars and are much faster and easier to manage.