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> Can you use this feeder on a hive with a screened bottom board in the winter
> rather than a standard bottom board?

I never had anything else than the screened bottoms in the picture. The difference (and this is the never
ending discussion...) is that we don't use upper entrance. Neither with screened bottoms nor solid. That
will also answer Bob Stevens question if I remove the Plexiglas feeding plate. When I don't have
ventilation through it doesn't matter if I remove it or not. No warm moist air that will condense on it.
On some hives I can find a few mm of condense water in the feeders at spring but generally they are dry.
When the bees can't get into the feeders and propolis the lid tight there will be some slow movement of
air through on hives with lids that's not perfect flat. To avoid mold in feeders I put some vinegar in
the feed to change ph. Very little is needed, I use 1 liter of 60% vinegar to 1000 kg of feed and it
makes a difference on black mold. A lot more can be used without harming the bees, it might even reduce
chalkbrood, but that's another story.

Bob, instead of going back to remove the plexiglas you can cut the bottom corners to allow the bees to go
out into the feeder to clean it up when finished. This will probably allow enough air for top vent system
to work. I'm not so sure you would get water dripping back into the hive from condensation when
condensation will happen on the cold surface and that might be more on the vertical plexi inside feeder
instead. Give it a try on a few hives to see, it would save one visit in the autumn.

> Bob Stevens: The hives took down about 60 lbs. of high fructose corn syrup

That sounds quite a lot of feed to me. I wonder if the amount of feed needed is so much greater with top
ventilation than without. When I'm not sure about the % of sugar (dry weight) in the syrup you use I
can't compare. I'm using white sugar that I dilute myself when we don't have the price (tax?) reduction
on corn syrup you have compared to cane sugar. An average winter consumption from september until first
flowers in may would be 16 to 20 kg dry weight of sugar in my location. Even if we don't have the cold
temps of inland climate we got the length of winter and bees can some years be unable to fly for 5 to 6
months.

The ready made bucket feeders I wrote about holds 16 kg of 75% inverted sugar and is what many use for
wintering a colony. That's only 12 kg dry weight sugar. That will take them through winter, but can
require some extra feed in spring when brood rearing starts.

Comparing cost, I see that Mann Lake bucket feeders are almost as expensive as the styro feeders I use.
When looking at the speed the bees take down syrup, each styro feeder can be used for 3 hives if you
don't have too far to go between yards.

--
Regards

P-O Gustafsson, Sweden
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