[Rob S]

Is there any problem with pouring 250 ml of 2:1 sugar water directly on the top frames? I do not have the buget to get a frame feeder or equivalent. Or, I do have the buget but figure spring will be here soon enough and I can start using my entrance feeder again. They have good stores...I want to just pour the sugar water directly on the top frames and then let the sugar water drain down onto the lower frames. This gives me a chance to look inside a bit also. The temperature is likely to hit 71 on Saturday. I'm talking about pouring a few ounces not flooding the hive so it runs out the main 3/8ths entrance.

 

[BjornBee]

Do you have an extra hive box? I would just place a canning or mayo jar above the inner cover hole, after punching some very small holes in the lids. Or you could use a plastic bag with a slit cut into it.

I would not recommend dripping sugar syrup as you suggest.

BTW, how many hives do you have?

[ November 24, 2006, 06:19 PM: Message edited by: BjornBee ]

 

[Rob S]

If I make it to April I will have completed my first year. I have one hive near Memphis but plan to start 5 more in the ozarks of southern MO in April. My mentor says "I'm not in a great spot for nectar" hopefully next season I'll get the "national average 40 lbs" (I'd settle for 30) This year I happily got 4 quarts without an extracter (I scraped/hacked the honey and comb and drained it in a large funnel/kitchen table operation). I have a few small hive beetles and I have added a few strips from my mentor which help keep SHB in check. He has his 300 hives just over the Mississippi river in AR in the soy bean fields where the soil is supposedly better (lower PH -rich MS delta soil) . He mentioned however that he has some risk from commercial insecticide spraying near his hives but so far so good.

 

[iddee]

Use the jar lid from your entrance feeder and proceed as Bjorn said with a quart jar. Wet bees may not dry before nightfall, or may not cluster on wet frames when the temp drops.

 

[Michael Bush]

A canning jar (or any jar for that matter) with a few small holes in the lid makes a fine feeder if the weather is warm enough for them to take it. It's warm enough here today.

I wouldn't dump syrup on them. The jar sometimes leaks and it does, but that's always a bad thing.

 

[riverrat]

I agree with MB an the rest dont pour the syrup on the frames. I myself used old pickle jars with small holes int the lid placed over the inner cover with a medium super and top cover to feed it works well and is cheap cheap cheap

 

[tecumseh]

my gosh fellows.... Rob S is from memphis which is a long way from minnesota. most time if you do catch a hive of bees near starvation it is quite common in the southern US of A to dribble a bit of sugar water directly over the cluster and top bars. should you do this in an ice storm or blizzard??? I would think no.

the down side rob s of this practice is that in any kind of weak hive this will most definitely encourage robbing. especially when the dribble becomes a stream or river, but you seemed aware??? of this downside.

It is not so hard to make frame feeders with a few wood scraps and hardboard... but my real question is why do you not wish to use the boardman feeder?

 

[MountainCamp]

Take an empty hive box and place it on top of the hive. You can place jar feeders on the top bars and/or granular sugar on paper on the top bars.
With roofing paper as a wrap the bees will feed with temps in the mid 20's on sunny days.
The inner cover goes on top of the empty box.

 

[JohnK and Sheri]

You could also use a clean paintbrush to fill the cells of an empty comb with syrup.
Sheri

 

[Dick Allen]

my gosh fellows.... Rob S is from memphis which is a long way from minnesota

right you are, tecumseh. our package bees arrive up here at latitude 61º N in mid April with snow still on the ground. They are hived in the usual fashion by wetting the bees with sugar syrup while in their package before pouring them into their new home. Works good.

 

[Alex Cantacuzene]

Hi, the subject of feeding has been on my mind lately. We only have two colonies going and they did not produce much due to weather etc. We have been feeding using Miller type hive top feeders. One colony is taking the syrup well, the other is not much interested. Our temps are still warm here in central Kentucky and the girls are flying. Concern is that they might be using their stored honey too early. Can one make syrup ahead of time and store it in the house without it going sour?