On Thu, 27 Apr 1995, Jeff Fagerman wrote:
 
> Bee-List Readers,
>
> I have a quick question concerning the effectiveness of hive top feeders,
> in particular those resembling shallow supers.  I have a few of these that
> I have made, modeled after those sold commercially.  However, everytime I
> have tried to use them, the bees seem to ignore them.  If I use a standard
> Boardman entrance feeder, the bees will take the syrup (without robbing).
> So the question is, "Do the hive top feeders of this sort really work?"
> And if they don't, why not?  Why would the bees ignore such a readily
> available source of food?
 
Although your sig gives clues to your religious thoughts and a few other
things -- including a phone number that appears to likey be North American
--it doesn't tell where you and your bees actually are.
 
Without that essential info, I don't know if you are experiencing spring
or fall, or never experience either.
 
Seeing as you are apparently using boardman feeders successfully, I assume
you have bee entrance activity.  But maybe not *your* bees -- read on.
 
If you have enough entrance activity to empty a boardman, unless
neighbouring hives are emptying the feeders, you must have a fair sized
hive of bees.
 
Assuming that is the case, a hivetop feeder should work -- again assuming
that you have it in contact with the cluster and not on top of several
supers above the brood chamber.
 
In my experience, well designed hivetops can work where boardmans don't --
particularly in cooler weather .  Either feeder type can be an inducement
for robbing if not protected from outside bees. Robbing can give the
impression that your bees are being fed, when in fact the neighbourhood is
getting all the syrup.
 
Since you built your own feeders, it is possible, but not likely that the
materials you used may have a repulsive effect on the bees if not the
same as in the feeders you copied.  If the shallow super you refer to is
6 5/8 inches, rather than 4 1/2, the bees have a longer walk and may
not discover it -- especially if it is spring and your bees are weak.
 
In short they do work, and work much better than the boardman -- which I
would not recommend to anyone.  I can only speculate why you apparently
are not having success (due to lack of information).
 
Come to think of it, I don't even know what you are trying to feed --
honey, sucrose syrup, invert? -- and at what dilution.
 
Is there a flow on?  Bees tend to ignore feed during a flow, but the
boardman will continue to drip out its contents regardless (for the ants
to eat) as the sun heats it and night cools it and the atmospheric
pressure changes pump out whatever is left.
 
The bag on top of frame idea works well -- but is fiddly, division board
feeders (my choice -- I have 3000 of them) are extemely reliable
(especially if made of wood and masonite), inverted jars and cans are
fair, boardmans are poor, but hivetops are extremely effective for feeding
large amounts in any season except possibly winter, if properly designed
and used in a way consistent with bee behaviour.
 
I have a few hundred of them and only use them in cases where I need more
feed than a division board (frame) feeder or two will hold because the
hivetop has one huge disadvantage for a commercial:  if the bees don't
empty it by the next inspection, it is difficult to handle and there is
always the risk that a queen can be on the bottom of it when you take it
off.  It is difficult to examine the bottom of a full feeder :-).
 
Hope this helps.  If not, and you post more details, maybe we can figure
out exactly what is happening.
 
Allen
 
W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper                        VE6CFK
Rural Route One   Swalwell   Alberta   Canada  T0M 1Y0
Email:   [log in to unmask]    or   [log in to unmask]
Virtual Art Gallery: http://www.cuug.ab.ca:8001/~dicka
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