>2.  With the baggie in place on the inner cover or top bars and slit with
>a razor, it is then immoveable (until it is taken down by the bees)
>without spilling the syrup.  Hive inspections stop til then.  (I had one
>hive that didn't take any down. I somehow gotta gingerly remove the inner
>cover and...)  With jars or can feeders, you can move the feeder easier.
 
        One way to permit removal of the feeder is to place in on
a bee escape. The solid frame kind. Another way is to contruct a baggie
feeder frame.
 
        I built some for my hives. The specification - 3 1/2" x 16 1/4"
x 19 7/8". I tacked a 3/4" ledge around the inside and then stapled 1/2"
wire screen to the ledge. I added a cross member below and another above
rotated 90 degrees to provide support.
 
        Roughly:
               ____________________________
              |\                          |\
              | \                         | \
              |  \________________________|  \
              |  |............::..........|  |
              |  |............::..........|  |
              |  |............::..........|  |
              |  |............::..........|  |
              |  |............::..........|  |
              |  |========================|  |
              |  |............::..........|  |
              |  |............::..........|  |
              |  |............::..........|  |
              |__|____________::__________|  |
              \                           \  |
               \                           \ |
                \___________________________\|
 
 
 
        With care the feeder box can be removed with only minor dripping.
The 3 1/2" depth can be adjusted based on the size of the baggie and how
full you fill it.
 
        One warning, fill the bags at the hive. I just invert a 64 oz
plastic bottle with the bag over the top. No spills so far. It would be
an awful sticky mess to have the zipper give way in the kitchen. Sometimes
the economy brands zipper leaks at the corner. With a 2:1 syrup it is less of
a problem.
 
        The feeder box can double as dead air space to absorb moisture
be filling it with straw or some other filler for winter.
 
        Jim Moore
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