Bee feeding becomes necessary when food resources become limited or environmental conditions hinder foraging bees from foraging for nectar sources. A garden bee feeder offers a convenient method for providing them with syrup while monitoring their intake.
Frame feeders are the most frequently used feeder, as they easily fit inside of a beehive and make feeding easy.
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Benefits
Bee feeders not only increase crop yields such as vegetables, flowers and herbs but can also assist pollination – an especially valuable function in ecosystems where natural bee populations are limited; making this tool perfect for gardens that specialize in edible or floral beds.
There are various kinds of bee feeders on the market, including entrance, hive top, frame and pail feeders. Each offers different advantages and drawbacks: entrance feeders can easily be monitored but may encourage robbing; they don’t hold as much sugar syrup either compared to other feeder types like pail feeders. Pail feeders are another popular choice and typically hang from trees or posts; however they’re susceptible to dripping which could freeze bees underneath in cold temperatures; recently introduced bee ladders have provided frame feeders with protection by restricting bee accessing syrup while giving bees somewhere safe to climb out should they fall.
Types
There are various types of bee feeders on the market today, and your selection will depend on your circumstances and hive type. Some beekeepers may employ various feeders throughout the year.
Entrance feeders can make refilling and monitoring easy without opening the hive; they’re easily monitored and replenished without risk of robbing and don’t hold much syrup either. However, entrance feeders may encourage robbing by their proximity and limited storage capacity for sugar syrup storage.
Hive top feeders provide bees with access to food quickly, helping prevent robbing while also being easy for mite treatments to be added quickly. They’re great at dispensing large quantities of syrup quickly while offering protection from robbing attacks.
Frame feeders feature ladders for the bees to climb down into and can provide quick drinking access during cold winter weather. However, opening and refilling them regularly takes up valuable time that could potentially disrupt cluster warmth in a hive.
Installation
Installation is typically straightforward for most feeders. First, lightly mist your package of bees with sugar water using an all-purpose sprayer (or skip this step if installing on a cool day).
Remove the empty feed can and queen cage from your hive before installing your package of bees, taking care to gently jostle them so they will travel over the queen without falling through any gaps created by using an empty feed can and wooden or plastic queen cage.
Another option for feeding bees is a top feeder, which sits on the outer cover of a hive box and features a small section of hardware cloth to allow bees to access sugar syrup without flying away or drowning. These feeders typically hold one gallon of sugar syrup and can be used both when starting new colonies or as an summer supplement. These top feeders tend to induce less robbing than feeders outside the hive; however, they must still be covered to protect from high winds or any potential risks that might occur from high winds or other potential dangers.
Maintenance
Beekeepers need only follow a few easy maintenance steps to keep their bee feeder safe and effective. All sugar syrup must first be boiled to reduce bacteria growth before being heated at an appropriate temperature to dissolve sugar crystals and cool before feeding to the beehive hive. A 1:1 sugar syrup ratio can be found online and at most local beekeeping stores as the ideal feeding regimen for bees.
Bees are generally self-sufficient throughout their lives; however, if shortage of nectar or other conditions prevent them from collecting enough honey stores to see them through winter then a bee feeder is an invaluable tool. However, remember to only use it temporarily as your colony becomes stronger and foraging opportunities increase; eventually they should stop depending on it as their colonies mature further and forage opportunities expand – too much dependence could encourage robbing behaviour that can kill smaller colonies altogether.
