Bob D. said:
> Mendes doesn't top feed as you suggest but uses 20 or so 3.5 gal pails in
> a feed station some distance from his holding yard.
Interesting.
First I ever heard of open feeding with small pails.
I guess they stuff straw or grass in the pails to keep the bees from
drowning?
round foam with holes?
The feeding station is a bit over a 55 gallon drum if my figures are
correct.
You said a holding yard of 200 hives? That's only about 1/4 gallon per
hive.
Not a lot of syrup for a trip to the bee yard. With inside feeders on level
ground (quarry) I would feed 200 gallons to 200 hives. ( almost 4 55
gallons drums worth.).
I am not saying you misunderstood what Dave M. said only that what you are
saying is not falling in line with what I see being done with beekeepers in
Florida.
I will ask Dave M. next time our paths cross about his feeding methods.
Thanks for the post Bob D.
Placing a feeder pail with a screen over a center hole has been used in
operations I visit in the south for decades. To answer Peter D.'s question
the pails can blow off when empty. Open center top holes in Florida is not a
big deal. In Missouri a top blew off and cold rain in freezing weather is a
big deal. Not in summer. Hives on sides if strong is not a big deal The
bees continue doing what bees do. We set up the next time we visit in
summer. Can lose hives with tops off in winter with rain and ice. We try not
to break top seals in the coldest time of winter.
Horace Bell has used 2 or 2 1/2 gallon pails over center holes before. he
filled the plastic pails out of a large tank and loaded on pallets. Used a
screen plug sold in bee supply houses.
His current & favorite method is clear glass bottles in center holesso you
can tell at a
glance when empty.
Dave Mendes is a successful Florida beekeeper. The Mendes brothers also
design
and build top of the line Bobcat trailers for beekeepers. Fifth wheels for
Bobcats.
bob
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