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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 30 Mar 2003 16:01:05 EST
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Hello Jason,
You mentioned drilling about 20 1/16' holes in a Mason jar cap.      You
don't want to DROWN the bees, you want to just FEED them

I use a 3/32" drill bit and drill no more than 4-6 holes in the cap of a
gallon GLASS
jar.  Plastic jars tend to collapse from the suction as the syrup is used,
and many
deli's have GLASS gallon jars of pigs feet, pickles, olives, etc., and trash
them.  A jar of your finest honey results in them saving these jars for you.
 This is inverted over the inner cover hole and surrounded by an empty deep
hive body or two empty medium hive bodies.

I NEVER, NEVER, feed with an outside feeder like a Boardman feeder for THREE
reasons: It definitely promotes ROBBING.  A pint or quart jar is not near big
enough.
In cold weather, even at 40-45°, the bees will NOT LEAVE the cluster to go
down to
a Boardman feeder.

Unless you are feeding when the outside temperature is about 50°, I don't
like ANY
of the commercial feeders like division board feeder, TOP feeder, or a BAGGIE
feeder.  WHY?  First, you have to OPEN the colony to check or refill the
feeder; and 2) when bees are clustered (anytime the temperature is less than
45-50°) it seems
that many beekeepers simply don't understand that the bees will NOT LEAVE that
cluster warmth to get food even if it is just 2 inches away, and NEVER will
they
move HORIZONTALLY over an empty frame to a frame of honey.  Hence, in cold
weather the bees simply cannot get to a division board feeder, a top feeder,
or a baggie feeder.

In real cold weather, or to feed a lot of syrup QUICKLY, you can remove the
inner cover and place as many as 4 gallon jars right down on the top of the
frames.  This
would be a rare happening, but I have had to do it 2-3 times in 70 years.

I hope I have helped.

George Imirie

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