[Brandon O]

Installed a 5 frame nuc in 10 frame deep at the start of June. I put an inner cover with a top entrance and then the ceracell feeder Filled with sugar syrup.
The first day or two it looked like they found it and would see the odd bee in there taking some syrup.
But last 2 weeks not a drop.
I would assume this is a good thing. Will they stop taking syrup if enough Nectar is comming in ?
I was told by the beekeeper I bought the nuc off to feed them to as soon as I hived them to build comb.
There seems to be a ton of activity at the hive entrance.
Should I remove the feeder ?

 

[dekster]

It is not clear what part of the world you're at, but if you have a decent flow, bees will be much less interested in "inferior" food such as syrup... When you install them in new box (or split, or some other serious change) it is good to give them some syrup to reduce the stress, but once they figure out their new surroundings they will most likely go out and get the real stuff, instead of syrup.

 

[beemandan]

I put an inner cover with a top entrance and then the ceracell feeder Filled with sugar syrup.

I am not familiar with this particular hive top feeder but all that I use, I use without an inner cover….especially below the feeder. Are the bees able to access the syrup with an inner cover placed beneath if it is upside down as I’m supposing you are doing for an upper entrance?
Before removing the feeder, I would remove the inner cover, rinse out the old and possibly fermenting syrup and put in fresh….and see how that works.

 

[Brandon O]

For some reason I can’t get into my user profile to update the info for my location.
But I’m in Kemptville , Ontario Canada

I am going to do a hive inspection later this afternoon. I was planning on taking the top entrance off and putting the feeder directly on top of brood box. They don’t seem to be using the top entrance much anyways.
I’m sure it helps with venting the hive a bit. But temperatures have been fairly cold for June we had a couple nights of 5 degrees C this weekend.
When an inner cover with the top entrance notch is used is there a certain orientation it should be ? Notch down so access is directly to the frames or notch up so they have to walk across the inner cover then down the hole.
Or does it even matter?
The way
How long does 2:1 syrup usually last before fermenting. The batch I have in there now is about 5 days old.

 

[beemandan]

I can’t imagine that you need any extra ventilation in Canada. Truth be told, if you go to south GA in the heat of the summer and look at the commercial hives out for melon pollination, they don’t have any top entrance/ventilation….in the blazing sun, often heat in triple digits F. The bees manage the heat just fine.
I have no idea how long it takes 2:1 to go bad in your climate. As a precaution, I would probably make a fresh batch. I would remove the inner cover entirely.
If you have it on the hive with the notch down….and therefore leaving empty space above the frames, the bees will fill that space with comb, honey and brood and it’ll make a mess. At the same time, with that orientation the hive top feeder will be totally inaccessible to the bees if they feed from the corners of the feeder….which is what I think they do with that feeder.

 

[dekster]

For some reason I can’t get into my user profile to update the info for my location.
But I’m in Kemptville , Ontario Canada

I am going to do a hive inspection later this afternoon. I was planning on taking the top entrance off and putting the feeder directly on top of brood box. They don’t seem to be using the top entrance much anyways.
I’m sure it helps with venting the hive a bit. But temperatures have been fairly cold for June we had a couple nights of 5 degrees C this weekend.
When an inner cover with the top entrance notch is used is there a certain orientation it should be ? Notch down so access is directly to the frames or notch up so they have to walk across the inner cover then down the hole.
Or does it even matter?
The way
How long does 2:1 syrup usually last before fermenting. The batch I have in there now is about 5 days old.

OK, so you are not far from me. The flow is strong now, the fact that you have lots of activity at the entrance should tell you that they are bringing the nectar, they don't need your syrup. Did they consume some over the first few days or did not touch it at all?
5 days is fine for syrup, also instead of 2:1, you can try 1:1 - they like it more in spring/summer. Anyway, don't get stressed over feeding now, there is no need. 5 frame nuc should have been strong enough to be able to sustain itself and grow.

 

[JConnolly]

I bought several Ceracel feeders last year and I love them. I suggest you go ahead and remove the feeder now, clean it up, and set it aside for the fall topping off.

 

[Brandon O]

They did take a little bit If syrup at the start when I installed them. But nothing as of the last 5 days
I’ll know this afternoon how much comb they have built out.
I’ll Probley just take the feeder off completely if they look like they are storing a lot of nectar.

 

[beemandan]

Just to be my usual dissenting self, I feed my new hives 1:1 sugar syrup even when there is a nectar flow. I do it as a supplement. As long as they take it and are still drawing comb and haven’t drawn out, what I consider a full nest of comb, I feed. I run double deeps, so I want 20 fully drawn frames with enough stored honey to get through the next dearth period. Once that has been achieved…I stop feeding.

 

[Brandon O]

Checked on them when I got home today.
They have 2 frames 1 side each fully built out, and are starting on the back side of those frames. They are back filling all the drawn comb with I assume honey. Don’t know how to tell the difference yet between stored syrup and honey.
But there are a ton more bees then last time I checked. So That’s good.
3 basically full frames of brood at all different stages. All corners packed with pollen and honey.
I left the feeder on as I saw a couple bees taking a drink.

 

[Brandon O]

How long does 2:1 sugar syrup usually last. ?
I still see bees up in the feeder but don’t want to leave the syrup on there too long.
It’s been in the hive for almost 10 days.

 

[JWPalmer]

One of the great things about using 2:1 is that it does not ferment readily. As long as you do not see black stuff in the feeder you are good. I always feed my nucs while trying to get comb drawn. Crappy weather can really set the girls back and having the feeder gives them an alternate source of carbs and me peace of mind. Use the Ceracell feeder without the inner cover.

 

[Brandon O]

One of the great things about using 2:1 is that it does not ferment readily. As long as you do not see black stuff in the feeder you are good. I always feed my nucs while trying to get comb drawn. Crappy weather can really set the girls back and having the feeder gives them an alternate source of carbs and me peace of mind. Use the Ceracell feeder without the inner cover.

I was wondering if it would be best to not use the inner cover. They have made a ton of comb on it to access the feeder through the inner cover hole. I just take the inner cover off with the feeder when I go into the hive.
The upper entrance in the inner cover dosnt seem to be used much other then a couple bees fanning and the odd drone comming in.