There is an assortment of honey feeders to select from; which is right for you will depend on your needs and climate in which your bees reside.
Most beekeepers feed their bees a sugar water solution made up of granulated sugar mixed with hot water to simulate plant nectar, to help build reserves for winter.
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Front Entrance Feeder
Entrance feeders can provide your bees with some extra sustenance when the weather becomes too warm or too cold for them to access natural sources of sustenance. They’re also invaluable when pollen dearths occur – particularly during autumn when pollen can be hard to come by.
Front entrance feeders consist of a jar outside the hive with an attached feeding tray that slides into its entrance for bees to access. They’re an efficient solution that’s both simple to use and keeps tabs on how much feed is being consumed by bees. They’re often chosen as beekeepers want to monitor how much feed their bees consume each week.
While this type of feeder may be convenient and effective, it can attract robber bees which could become serious threats to colony health if the syrup splits or leaks out. Therefore, it’s vitally important that any potential threats are dealt with quickly to preserve honey harvest production and minimize risk to hive health.
Hive-Top Feeder
Hive-top feeders provide an efficient means of providing bees with sustenance without disturbing their colonies, making it the ideal solution for beginners looking to minimize disruption and provide fresh sugar water whenever needed.
Hive-top feeders come in many different designs, but the basic setup involves a shallow box (typically 4 to 5″ depth) fitted with a plastic reservoir to hold syrup, hardware cloth for access by bees without drowning them and an up to 4-gallon syrup capacity. They’re suitable for 8 and 10-frame Langstroth equipment alike!
Utilizing a top feeder is an excellent way to make sure that bees receive enough nectar during periods of nectar dearth and other special occasions like spring or fall nectar flows. Depending on which feeder type you use, different sugar-to-water ratios may even mimic these moments in time.
Frame Feeder
Frame feeders (sometimes referred to as division board feeders) are an essential element in many commercial apiaries, providing syrup in winter months and additional feed during spring and summer. Palletized operations especially benefit from this form of feeder as it enables beekeepers to efficiently supply multiple colonies at one visit with syrup.
Frame feeders differ from other rapid feeding methods in that they allow bees to climb down an ascending ladder into their syrup without risking drowning and provide them with a way back out without drowning themselves. This reduces robber bee theft from frame feeders while simultaneously removing any chance of drowning from being submerged under its depths.
Frame feeders may create interference with brood rearing by taking up some brood area; this is particularly prevalent in single deep brood nests. Depending on the nature of your beekeeping operation, frame feeders may need to be taken out seasonally or replaced with alternative means for providing feed.
Pail Feeder
Pail feeders are one of the easiest, simplest, and cost-efficient ways to feed your bees. Featuring an easily accessible stainless steel feeder screen buried directly into the lid of a pail, bees can quickly access their syrup supply.
Pail feeders provide several other advantages that make filling them simple: no disruption or reduction in their ability to produce honey; non-leaking or spillage prevents feed from coming in contact with treatments and dribbling onto bees; they don’t leak.
This 1 gallon pail feeder with plug is the perfect addition to your beekeeping toolkit, from spring through fall use.
Pail feeders are designed to hold large quantities of sugar syrup, and can quickly and efficiently be fed by inverting their lid. This allows bees to easily lick up syrup from its screen surface before more drips down as they finish their meal.
