Ed and Group:
 
We did some open feeding tests in late fall in Maryland.  The weather was
warm, but the bees were conserving energy by sending out only a few
scouts, so flight activity ranged from low to almost nil at two sites
where we had our hives with front-entrance bee flight counters.
 
We placed an open feeder at each site in late afternoon, so the bees
didn't find them until the next day.  Under similar weather conditions,
overall bee flight activity increased dramatically - more than 6 fold at
one site.  However, we also experienced about a 6% loss in returning bees
- some drowned and I suspect others were too old and weak to survive the
feeding frenzy.
 
My guess, from an energy expenditure and bee loss statepoint - we had an
adverse impact on the colonies (at least in terms of individual bees).
Whether the colony experienced a net gain or loss from the additional
provisions is unknown.
 
 
Jerry Bromenshenk
The University of Montana
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