There are various methods available for feeding bees, with some methods more suitable than others.
An entrance feeder is one of the easiest feeders to monitor and use, often used to support new package colonies until their bees can gather their own food sources. Unfortunately, however, an entrance feeder can encourage robbing as well as be difficult to clean up afterwards.
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Frame Feeders
Frame feeders fit easily inside of hives to give bees easy access to sugar syrup for wintering colonies, or during spring when strong colonies need large quantities of food quickly while foraging may be difficult due to bad weather conditions. They’re particularly useful during the colder months when colonies require plenty of nourishment while foraging may become challenging due to inclement conditions.
Inner Cap and Ladder Systems prevent comb building inside feeders while simultaneously minimising robbing as bees enter via only one entry point: the ladder. These 1-gallon feeders are specifically designed to use with deep hives but may be suitable for mediums as well.
These feeders do have some disadvantages however. Because bees have access to all of the syrup available, bees may become overwhelmed and drown, clogging up surfaces with sticky fermented waste that must be cleared away. Furthermore, these feeders tend not to be as durable and may warp within the hive, reducing its capacity for holding syrup.
Top Feeders
Hive top feeders are often the first feeder that beginner beekeepers purchase, as they quickly connect to mason jars and allow quick filling times. Furthermore, unlike frame or gravity feeders that may leak due to temperature changes or poor seals, refilling this type of feeder does not interfere with colony activity – simply remove outer cover and inner lid when refilling is required.
Feeders also take advantage of an interesting physical principle to allow syrup to slowly flow downward when full through an inverted pale and mesh-covered hole at the top. This prevents theft.
Feeders designed with this in mind make monitoring easier as you don’t need to open your hive in order to inspect or refill it, making them particularly helpful during winter or dearth conditions when bees cannot gather enough food themselves.
Gravity Feeders
Many beekeepers find that using gravity feeders works well on a small scale to feed their bee colonies. Setting them up quickly doesn’t require batteries or electricity and they’re much simpler to keep clean since there’s only one dispenser holding syrup or feed!
Gravity feeders that stand out are those made from recyclable plastics such as PET that is BPA-free. Some feeders also utilize powder-coated steel construction for lasting and reliable operation.
Deer gravity feeders are created to be placed at a height that prevents raccoons or other vermin from accessing their feed, helping acclimate deer to new environments while supplementing natural food sources when natural ones become scarce or during periods between antler growth and shed. Some manufacturers even provide mineral attractants as an added boost of nutrition for deer.
Open Feeders
Open feeders are an inexpensive and straightforward solution for providing nectar to your bees when nectar levels decline, with easy use enabling individual colonies to receive food according to their own individual needs. They may, however, attract bees from other hives as well as wasp and hornet pests who might attempt robbing of nectar sources and could lead to robbing occurring more frequently than anticipated.
An entrance (or boardman) feeder is a small wooden container placed at the hive entrance and filled with sugar water, often flotation material to reduce bee drowning. They require frequent refilling due to light exposure that may spoil their contents and contaminate medications added with them; additionally, this form of feeding takes considerable time.
