Division board feeder questions.

[Ruben]

I run one hive body with a medium super on top of that. I was looking to buy some of the division board feeders and saw they make them for the deeps or for medium supers. I was thinking of getting the deep ones because they would hold more and also be able to get them closer to the brood nest. Does this sound like a good choice? I have only used a top hive feeder this past spring when I started but after reading I am worried the bees will not break the cluster to travel up to it. Your thoughts please.

Happy New Year!

Ruben Showalter

[Michael Bush]

Of course your best bet is to make sure they already have enough stores before it gets cold. But they will not break cluster when it's cold to get syrup. They won't take much syrup when it's cold even when it's right there because they get very cold taking it.

A baggie feeder right over the cluster is pretty effective when it's only a little cold. A jar feeder directly over the cluster is pretty effective under the same circumstances. Anything else seems to get ignored in my experience. The frame feeder will probably get more use than a top feeder and a frame feeder next to the cluster will get more use than one in the box above the cluster.

Filling a frame feeder in the bottom box is not very convenient in warm weather. It's worse in cold weather.

[Ruben]

At this time Michael I only have one hive that needs too be fed. I have three more that I question weather they will have enough to get through the winter but I don't really know what to expect. I have read also that a lot of people start feeding to get the queens to start laying earlier is this a good idea or not? If so I need about 12 for feeders ordered pretty soon, if not I can get by with about three more I think.

Also when I get a colony that is out of honey and I start feeding it like the one I will be feeding starting tomorrow, will this cause the queen to start laying?

[Michael Bush]

>I have read also that a lot of people start feeding to get the queens to start laying earlier is this a good idea or not?

It's not a bad idea. I think stores and pollen are a better stimulant, but feeding won't hurt.

>If so I need about 12 for feeders ordered pretty soon, if not I can get by with about three more I think.

I like the Rapid Feeders from www.beeworks.com (http://www.beeworks.com) pretty well, but currently most of my hives have these:

http://www.bushfarms.com/images/OverwinteringNucs3.jpg
http://www.bushfarms.com/images/OverwinteringNucs1.jpg

If the temperatures are above freezing and the feeder is over the cluster they will usually be taking some syrup even when they would not from any other feeder.

[Jim Fischer]

>> I have read also that a lot of people start
>> feeding to get the queens to start laying
>> earlier is this a good idea or not?

> It's not a bad idea. I think stores and pollen
> are a better stimulant, but feeding won't hurt.

A more accurate answer would be that the only
way to get the queen laying early is to make it
seem that fresh nectar is coming in to the hive.

Mike seems to have the idea that a little baggie
of feed (what, a gallon at most?) is going to
have any impact on the colony in terms of getting
it jump-started for spring. It won't. If one
is feeding tightly clustered bees, this is only
because one thinks that the colony is a risk of
starvation. Clearly, the brood area possible
when bees are tightly clustered will be very
small, and worse yet, asking them to raise brood
under "clustered" conditions is a very bad idea,
and often a waste of resources, as the bees
go overboard, and end up letting brood get chilled
due to having too large a brood area for the
cluster they make.

Bees are not going to break cluster when it is
very cold, but you are near Lexington, VA, so
you haven't had many days when the bees were
tightly clustered so far this winter. Your
hive-top feeder was an excellent choice for
your weather, which tends to be very different
from what poor Mike goes through out in Nebraska.

As usual, the weather forecast tells us what
we can get away with...
Weather.com says that the highs for the next
few days will be 54, 60, 59, 64, 66, 58... gee
looks like your bees will be FLYING on Saturday,
so yo could even go tear apart the hive(s) and
see with your own eyes what their stores look
like. But slap that feeder on NOW if you feel
uncertain, as they could suck down a lot of
feed before you get a chance to take a look.

[Michael Bush]

>A more accurate answer would be that the only
way to get the queen laying early is to make it
seem that fresh nectar is coming in to the hive.

Since I can feed syrup to a hive in late winter that has no pollen and they won't rear brood and I can feed pollen to a hive in late winter that has no nectar or syrup (but has lots of honey stores) and they WILL rear brood, I have to disagree. G.M. Doolittle spent a few pages in his books disagreeing also. Nectar (syrup) may be helpful but it is NOT the only way to get the queen to lay, and in fact, by itself, will not get her to lay if there is no pollen.

[Ruben]

Would this mean that you should start feeding syrup when you see them bringing in pollen? It appears that most if not all of my hives are bringing pollen in.

[Michael Bush]

>Would this mean that you should start feeding syrup when you see them bringing in pollen? It appears that most if not all of my hives are bringing pollen in.

They will not rear brood in any serious amount unless they have sufficient stores and pollen coming in. If they have sufficient stores I find feeding isn't necessary, but it won't hurt. If it's warm enough to gather pollen it should be warm enough to feed.