Drowning Bees

[Tucker1]

I recently hived my first package of bees and everything seems to going along fairly well. The bees seem surprising gentle (to a new bee) and are just now starting to gather pollen whenever the weather warms up for a day or so. Watching them "do their thing" is amazing. Its one of those things you wish you had more time to do.

This afternoon I took the top cover and inner cover off of the hive to replenish the sugar syrup in their plastic top feeder. (I purchased the top feeder from a well known supplier.) When I removed the covers I found ~ 90 dead bees floating on the syrup in the top feeder. Needless to say, I was very disappointed. I placed additional wood in the top feeder to provide some type of additional floating platform for the bees.  I don't want a repeat of this type of loss.  Am I doing something wrong or are drowning losses typically this high for a new colony?  :-x

I have a friend that has a styrofoam top feeder and he hasn't experienced nearly the losses that I have to drowning.  He doesn't use any type of floats.  This doesn't make sense.  :?

Any suggestions, besides adding more wood?

Regards,
Tucker1

[annette]

What kind of top feeder are you using?? Tell us more. My only experience is with the Mann Lake Feeder. Black plastic feeder. I had many drownings until I modified the feeder.

Give more info.

Annette

[Flygirl]

It's disappointing to see dead bees, isn't it?  This happened to me too the first time I used a styrofoam top feeder.  You're not supposed to use the inner cover because it allows them to get in from the outside & drown.  It needs to be sealed up tight with just the outer cover so they have to come up from under / the hive.

I used the top feeder last year but this year I'm going to use the top feeder on only one hive & use the baggie system on the other & then compare.

Good luck!  FG

[Tucker1]

The top feeder was from Dadant and was constructed from brown plastic with white plastic end pieces that were slotted. (Model MO1451)  My friend has the BeeMax Hive Top Feeder and didn't have any problems. There has to be something that I doing wrong.

You're certainly right about the disappointing feeling, finding dead bees. I'm about ready to pull it off, if I can't find a solution in the near term. I'll remove the inner cover as you suggested, add some more wood and see what happens next.

Any other suggestions would be helpful.  I feel a bit guilty and want to prevent this from happening again. 

Thanks in advance for any advice you might provide.

Regards,
Tucker1

[johnnybigfish]

Hey Tucker,
I just responded to another person with the same problem as you're having but a different type of top feeder..Mine is the same as yours...
Look closely at the white parts...They need to bee all the way down and aligned with the little tiny bumps(or pegs, I suppose you could call them) If these white parts arent in right the bees will get thru between the white parts and brown walls and get to the syrup and fall in and drown.....This happened to me last spring when I got my first 2 packages..I think it happens alot of the time to new beekeepers with these types of feeders....once you get the whites parts in right, the feeders work fine after that :)
I get black or dark green "Gunk" that grows in my top feeders...It doesnt seem to bother the bees much tho..I think some people use a tiny bit of clorox to prevent this.

your friend,
john

[Tucker1]

Johnny:  Thanks for the advice. I'll drain the feeder as soon as I can and check out the white plastic parts as you proposed. After I fix that, I'll place it back on the hive without the inner cover as Flygirl suggested. I've also have a good dozen and a half unused wooden paint stirrers that I'll float on top of the syrup for added protection.

About adding something to the syrup to prevent molding, one of the seasoned local beekeepers recommended I add 1/2 teaspoon of Apple cider vinegar to every gallon of syrup I make to help minimize the build up of mold. I hadn't heard about the clorax.

Thanks again to you, Flygirl and Annette.

Regards
Tucker

[Kathyp]

i don't think he meant bleach in the syrup...although bees drink pool water....
i think he meant cleaning the feeder with some bleach between fillings.  i do the same with my jars.

a couple of drops of  lemongrass oil also retards mold growth.  a little mold in the syrup does not seem to bother the bees.

[Brian D. Bray]

Johnny:  Thanks for the advice. I'll drain the feeder as soon as I can and check out the white plastic parts as you proposed. After I fix that, I'll place it back on the hive without the inner cover as Flygirl suggested. I've also have a good dozen and a half unused wooden paint stirrers that I'll float on top of the syrup for added protection.

About adding something to the syrup to prevent molding, one of the seasoned local beekeepers recommended I add 1/2 teaspoon of Apple cider vinegar to every gallon of syrup I make to help minimize the build up of mold. I hadn't heard about the clorax.

Thanks again to you, Flygirl and Annette.

Regards
Tucker

The vinegar also helps head off Nosema although I use twice as much--1 tsp per gallon.  The clorox doesn't seem to hurt the bees, after all they will take water from a swimming pool where the water has a much higher concentration of bleach (Chlorine).

[Tucker1]

Well, I just checked the hive and no more drowned bees.  What a relief ! !   :-D  In fact, the amount of syrup consumption seems to be way up. If the weather warms up, I'll check the hive again this weekend and remove the queen cage. I'm a bit hesitant to disturb them, now that things have settled down.

Thanks for all the help and encouragement.  You can't imagine the amount of pleasure I get out of this. I usually spend about 45 minutes to an hour in the evening just reading about bees. They are amazing !

Regards,
Tucker

[Michael Bush]

Some people put bleach in the syrup.  As much as 1/4" cup in five gallons.  I think that's an awful lot, but that's what some people do.  It keeps the syrup from spoiling.