Replying to the answer of Marc Studebaker:
1) The Boardman feeder should be outlawed.  Too many beginners lose their
bees by using this "lousy" excuse for a feeder.
2) Sucrose (plain sugar) does NOT cause dysentery.  Coke syrup, HONEY, Hi
Fructose
syrup, maple syrup all may cause dysentery because of the impurities they may
contain.  Further, Nosema may cause diarrhea, and research suggests that 60%
of
ALL the hived bees in the U. S. have some Nosema infection, yet few beekeepers
automatically treat every fall with Fumidil-B to prevent Nosema.  I have
always
treated every fall to protect my bees while trying to make honey in the
spring, because, like humans, bees cannot work very hard if they have the
"runs".
3) While I also feed a pollen substitute as a "life insurance" in January and
February, unless the colony is in a pollen poor location, the colony should
have an adequate supply of pollen to prevent a protein shortage in most
instances.
4) I am familiar with the border of Ohio- Indiana, since I attended of
Michigan in
Ann Arbor 60 years ago.  I am aware that Maryland might be a few degrees
warmer
than the Dayton area, but I doubt it.  We do get 1-2 flight days each month
in January and February, today it was 57, but this date in 1899 it was -15 in
Washington, DC, just 15 miles from my house.

For many many years, I feed 1:1 Sugar syrup to 100+ colonies beginning in
January and continue it until dandelions in April as an egg laying stimulant
for the queen so that I have a huge population of foraging age bees ready to
go nectar collecting
on April 15th. because my honey crop is TOTALLY over by June 10th until next
year.

I encourage all Maryland beekeepers and those that have their only crop in
April or May to feed starting surely by February, but ONLY SUGAR syrup
through the inner cover hole.

I hope I have helped.  I wish all a great year and mite free bees.

George Imirie