Joe wonders why not use styrofoam blocks or something else that floats
instead of straw (hay)?

Good question.  I have tried styro blocks and they don't work...meaning that
lots of drowned bees result.  Why?  I don't know, but I can speculate.

Around here, when barrel feeding time arrives it is mid to late fall.  The
purpose of barrel feeding is mostly for getting enough winter stores into
the hives.  There is little to no natural flow at the time, and the hive
populations are essentially at peak levels.  The result is a feeding frenzy
with tens of thousands of bees in the air and in the barrel.  (Together with
a horde of yellow jackets, bald-faced hornets, and other flying critters.)

If one looks in the barrel, when there are pieces of styro they are black
with bees and the syrup is full of bees.  When the straw in properly
positioned there will be so many bees on it that the entire mass is
constantly quivering and moving.  My guess is that the drowning occurs
because feeding bees are literaly pushed into the syrup by others and can't
crawl back up without getting pushed back.  Properly positioned straw seems
to give the bees room to stand without providing enough open syrup space for
the feeding bees to get pushed in.

Just a guess...

How would a bushel of styro peanuts work?  Don't know.  May work as well as
straw.
-- 
Lloyd Spear
Owner Ross Rounds, Inc.
Manufacture of equipment for round comb honey sections,
Sundance Pollen Traps, and producer of Sundance custom labels.
Contact your dealer or www.RossRounds.com

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