Re. A Gallon Glass Jar-Feeder

To drill holes in the plastic lid of a gallon glass jar, I use 1/16 drill
bit: I make about nine to twelve tiny holes and they will not leak.
Invariably a strong colony will empty a gallon in less than three days.

A gallon glass jar, as a feeder, works well most of the time except during
winter—-if you must feed the bees then. Whether you place the jar atop
outside or within an empty deep, I found out, the lid will, however
slightly, be loosened due to the continuous freezing and thawing action of
the weather, no matter how tightly you screw it, causing a rivulet running
out through the entrance.  Through this crack in the lid, the syrup will
start to “bleed” and if/when this continuous trickle falls directly on to
the cluster, now immobilized due to the freezing weather outside, it will
kill the colony easily.  I lost a few this way this winter.  A Styrofoam
hive top feeder will solve this problem, however, though I am not
endorsing it.  Another problem associated with a glass jar atop outside is
that the syrup and the sun will interact to create this black fungus
inside the jar if the bees do not take the juice quickly.  The lighter the
mix, of course, the quicker the emergence of fungus.  Although the jar
placed within a deep will last fresh longer, it too will develop fungus or
go sour if not taken quickly.  [Some suggests using drops of vinegar in
the mix to retard the fungus]

I have been recycling these jars since I empty one in a month: they put
this stuff called Kim Chi, a Korean ethnic dish made of salted cabbage
mixed with raw garlic and hot red pepper, and you can find either Kim Chi
or an empty gallon jar [at about $2.50] at a local Korean Grocery Store.
Warning: Do not try Kim Chi if you haven’t: it is spicy hot and will make
your blood boil with vigor.  That stuff is my soul food.  And it stinks
big time.


Shawnee, OK

Yoon

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