[mlanden]

I'm outside feeding lately (dry autumn so far, no real rains in sight, little-to-no nectar available and so-so pollen) and spoke with an engineer last night about an issue I see with using frame-feeders in hives. Here's the gist:

I'm feeding a beek pal's bees nowadays (she's hospitalized/doing major rehab due to an accident). Her feeders are inner ones, so I have to lift each of her 5 hives' heavy mediums to get to the frame feeders. A real chore, and I ain't 16 anymore! I could take out frames individually, but that's not really practical -- and her bees tend to be super-defensive.

Keeping inner feeders in my own 3 hives -- not desirable. The ones I've used in the past tend to get used as SHB hotels once syrup levels go down, and disaster ensues, since the bees can't get to the beetles and SHB eggs, I guess. Again, having to lift the mediums to reach the deeps' feeders - uh-uh.

Is there a solution to this? Is there some method whereby a "feeding tube" could somehow be inserted into the hive/hive-body wall to feed the bees w/o having to remove mediums? If so, there could be the issue of knowing when the feeder was full , so as not to flood the hive with overflow syrup. Lots of potential variables here, I know.

Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions re: this?

Mitch

 

[Michael Bush]

The "secret" of course is to have the frame feeder always in the top box. But I assume you have a deep feeder and medium boxes. I have medium frame feeders in medium boxes. Still, I have many times put a deep frame feeder in two medium boxes with a gap underneath. Sometimes they build some comb under the feeder but it's not a big deal... As far as a tube, I have seen jar feeders where a tube is soldered to the lid that goes through a hole in a migratory cover into the hive and works like a Guinea pig waterer.