Bruce Murphy said;
> I put a new top Hive feeder on a hive last week

Hive top feeders are the only type I use now.  These are the ones that are
the same dimensions as a super but 2-3" deep.  While I believe these are the
best feeders, they have some problems.  The commercial feeders that I bought
several years ago had a metal cover over the entrance.  The bees came up
through the entrance over the top and down to the liquid.  I found that
these covers caused the feeding bees to be pushed into the syrup by their
sisters to drown and block access to the syrup.  I removed the covers,
leaving the entrance open then cut a piece of 1/4" plywood which fits over
the entrance and floats on top of the syrup.  The bees now have open access
to the float which is 1-2" smaller than the feeder leaving a space around
the outside for the bees to feed.  My feeders are sealed with melted beeswax
which has to be remelted each year to prevent leakage.  I dribble a little
syrup down the entrance hole to attract the bees up.  Sometimes nothing
brings them up.  I guess at several possible causes to be: small colony,
lotsa stores, still in cluster etc.  I dump a small amount of pollen onto
the float which dissapears quickly.

Bob Darrell
Caledon Ontario
Canada
80W 44N