Beekeepers regularly feed colonies sugar syrup during spring and fall as a means to strengthen colonies or sustain them through periods of dearth. There are various approaches for feeding syrup; each method may present advantages or disadvantages.
Frame feeders provide high-capacity feeding without risking bee drowning or coming in contact with treatments, making them an attractive solution. Unfortunately, however, they require regular refilling to remain effective and may result in weak hives robbing themselves of resources.
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Frame Feeders
Traditional frame feeders were constructed of folded and wax-dipped tin. Modern plastic versions are much more stable and less likely to leak, offering equivalent capacity as standard hive frames (one, one-half or two gallon capacity). Caps fit across the top of these feeders to provide rigidity and prevent bees from accessing its main volume; additionally, these caps make the tubes easier to clean at temperatures as low as 30 degrees! Ladders help limit access to syrup to prevent drowning of bees.
Division Board feeders, which replace frames in the brood box, offer another alternative. With its cover and ladder structure designed to protect bees from drowning, these need to be opened periodically in order to be filled back up with food from their supplier.
Top Feeders
Top feeders are meant to sit atop your hive and work with both 8-frame and 10-frame Langstroth equipment. Their designs vary slightly; all, however, include a shallow box that contains the syrup reservoir and hardware cloth to give bees access while protecting them from drowning.
Bees usually prefer inner feeders over entrance feeders for many reasons: wind, rain and robber bees tend not to affect them as much and refilling one is easy and doesn’t disturb your bees! Also, monitors and refills can easily be added by opening the outer hive body box and inserting new jars without disturbing their bees’ behavior.
Miller-type feeders hold 2.5 gallons on either side, which allows for less frequent refilling of beehive nectar feeders and means you can feed more bees without refilling as often. Unfortunately, some beekeepers believe these feeders induce robbing because the syrup is so close to the entrance of their hives. These Miller feeders are relatively cheap compared to frame feeders while remaining durable and easy to use – plus this type of Miller feeder is simple and straightforward when it comes to cleaning and maintaining it regularly!
Gravity Feeders
Gravity feeders offer beekeepers looking to provide large volumes of sugar syrup quickly an efficient means of doing so, without the need for constant refilling of buckets or containers. Their large feed capacities enable them to provide deer with sustenance over long periods without frequent refilling needs.
Clean and portable, they make for an efficient solution to providing sugar syrup to newly established package colonies in northern climates, which could otherwise starve without immediate access. They’re often utilized as feeders in new hives which might need immediate feeding of sugar syrup for survival.
This jar is placed outside the entrance to a beehive and contains a feeding tray which slides into its opening to give bees access to syrup. This allows you to keep an eye on syrup levels without disturbing bees; ladders on these feeders are intended to prevent bees from drowning in syrup; however, in many cases these ladders feature textured sides or no caps, which allows bees to still get in and drown; in this situation a better solution would be division board feeder (Figure 17).
Internal Feeders
Beekeepers commonly employ an entrance feeder (also referred to as a Boardman feeder). This simple jar with its lid and wooden base sits at the front of the hive, with bees accessing sugar through a tray inserted in its lid. Restocking can be quick, and other animals have trouble reaching its contents – potentially helping prevent robbing!
However, they can be challenging to keep clean as moisture can collect on their lid, leading to mold growth and inviting other insects and animals like wasps, birds, raccoons, or possums to come into the hive and potentially spread diseases or parasites to bees. They should therefore only be used during times when bees require extra help during tough conditions; similarly division board feeders are designed similarly with sugar syrup stored inside their frame in which case you just insert both frames together into your hive (along with frames) holding frames inserted directly into their respective frames within their respective frames while in addition.
