Re Eric Abell's recent letter on styrofoam top feeders.  May I respectfully
ask why bother with styrofoam with its problems of lightness and being
chewed by the bees.  Why not in wood?  I have one of these feeders well over
twenty years old, home made in cedar and still serviceable.  This type of
feeder has a long history and is described in detail in Root's A B C of Bee
Culture, 1907.  It was devised or invented by Doctor C C Miller, of
Illinois, who started his beekeeping in 1861.  Mr H R Boardman, of Ohio,
introduced his feeder a hundred years ago and it is still with us.  As I
have remarked before, there is very little new in beekeeping.
As regards feeders in general, I think it is a matter of choice, fitting the
feeder to the situation.  A Miller feeder is ideal in the autumn, when
feeding heavily for winter stores.  The bees are active and will come up
eagerly and empty it quickly.  Two fillings, with no disturbance to the
bees, are usually sufficient.  If one has a stock low in stores in the
spring due to a prolonged winter then a Miller feeder may not be suitable.
The temperature is low, the bees are reluctant to leave the cluster and the
syrup will be cold.  In this case a gravity feeder (an inverted can with
holes in the lid)  placed directly over the cluster and filled with warm
syrup, would be better.  It will need an empty crate to contain it.
 Stimulative feeding in the early spring when a stock has ample stores is an
entirely different situation.  Beekeepers here still argue about it.  Does
it work or doesn't it?  Is it worth the trouble and so on?  Personally I
think there is a case for it in my situation.  Weather permitting, May is
the best month for nectar collection so I need the queens laying heavily in
March and early April, when the temperatures may be low, the weather wet and
littlle chance of the bees flying.  Weak syrup supplies their need for water
and is a carrier for Fumidil.  This syrup is not intended to be stored and
is offered in small honey jars, replenished when empty.
The Miller feeder came to England and is much used here, as are gravity and
frame feeders. I have no experience of the Boardman as it has never caught
on in my part of the world.  It is offered for sale by one appliance firm.
Would some kind person or persons tell me what are its advantages and
disadvantages.  If money is a consideration for a hobbyist beekeeper then
second-hand gravity containers of glass or metal , in a suitable size,
costing nothing, can fit any situation and Millers and Boardmans can be
considered a luxury.
                                                        Regards to all.
Sid P.
 
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Sid Pullinger                    Email :  [log in to unmask]
36, Grange Rd                Compuserve:  [log in to unmask]
Alresford
Hants SO24 9HF
England