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Date: | Fri, 31 Mar 2000 18:48:48 -0500 |
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Bruce Murphy said;
> I put a new top Hive feeder on a hive last week
Hive top feeders are the only type I use now. These are the ones that are
the same dimensions as a super but 2-3" deep. While I believe these are the
best feeders, they have some problems. The commercial feeders that I bought
several years ago had a metal cover over the entrance. The bees came up
through the entrance over the top and down to the liquid. I found that
these covers caused the feeding bees to be pushed into the syrup by their
sisters to drown and block access to the syrup. I removed the covers,
leaving the entrance open then cut a piece of 1/4" plywood which fits over
the entrance and floats on top of the syrup. The bees now have open access
to the float which is 1-2" smaller than the feeder leaving a space around
the outside for the bees to feed. My feeders are sealed with melted beeswax
which has to be remelted each year to prevent leakage. I dribble a little
syrup down the entrance hole to attract the bees up. Sometimes nothing
brings them up. I guess at several possible causes to be: small colony,
lotsa stores, still in cluster etc. I dump a small amount of pollen onto
the float which dissapears quickly.
Bob Darrell
Caledon Ontario
Canada
80W 44N
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