[bjoynes]

Hi,

Just got two Nuc's and am a GreenHorn when it comes to bees. We are top feeding with a pan designed by a local bee keeper which is screened from robbing, and also screened so the bees can come up to feed, have somewhere to stand but not drown.

My question with this open design is how long can a pan of 1:1 be exposed before it would need to be exchanged because of mold or fermenting?

Thanks

Bryn

 

[mike haney]

"...this open design is how long ..."
open to the sun/heat? its not clear to me if its covered. if not covered, 2-3 days. if covered, a week or more. some have success with additives to delay spoilage.
good luck,mike

 

[bjoynes]

From the outside it looks like a very shallow supper on top of the inner cover with a screened cover on top of that, with a telescoping top on that. These are 8 frame hives.

When you look down on top of the feeder, it is a thin aluminum pan, which is sunk into a wooden floor, with a hardware cloth at one end which comes up and over into the pan for the bees to come up and feed. You can think of the hardware cloth like a pocket in your pants, in that the bees can get to the feed as the hardware cloth dips into the feed, and the bees have something to stand on and hopefully not drown, but not float off into the feed.

Hope this helps

Bryn

 

[mike haney]

interesting design, should work well. i'd only put a gallon in and adjust how much i added (less/more) to be almost empty in a week.
good luck,mike

 

[mike haney]

sorry, repost

 

[JPK]

Don't know about anyone elses bees but my girls prefer drinking out of gutters and mud holes.....they don't seem to turn their noses up at a little funk in their syrup.

Filler up and let 'er run.....when its empty fill it up again.

With that said a pinch of salt in syrup tends to attract the girls as well as keep the "funk" buildup down a bit.....but in the end its nothing that you can't clean by soaking in bleach/water and sitting in the sun for a couple hours.