Beekeepers use various feeding techniques to feed their colonies; some methods are superior than others.
Pail feeders are an increasingly popular way to feed birds. They work especially well during warmer weather, making filling easy while simultaneously being less likely to encourage robbing and being easily cleaned afterwards.
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Bucket Feeders
Bucket feeders are one of the easiest and most efficient ways to feed bees sugar syrup, and come in various sizes (typically 1 gallon capacity). When used inside of hives they allow easy access without opening it all the time.
Division board feeders fit on top of deep brood boxes and allow bees to access frames of foundation in the upper boxes for additional feeding, thus creating more combs.
The feeder consists of a black bucket equipped with a lid equipped with screens to reduce the risk of drowning bees and prevent robber bees from entering the hive.
Frame Feeders
Bee feeders can help keep bees fed during hot weather or when forage is scarce outside, providing another effective means of keeping their colonies fed and healthy. They’re especially beneficial during winter when resources may become limited for foraging purposes.
These feeders feature a stainless steel feeder screen melted into their lid for ease of filling, transporting, and cleaning. Bees consume sugar syrup through an opening in the top inner cover while other bees don’t rob from their feeder due to protection by the hive body’s protective covering over it.
Feeders may not be the most economical method of feeding, but they have their place in any beekeeper’s apiary. They’re great for beginners or busy beekeepers with multiple colonies; fitting into either an 8-frame complete hive and used either for sugar syrup feedings or dry sugar/pollen feed.
Baggie Feeders
Entrance feeders consist of a feeding tray placed near the entrance of the hive and an inverted container to store syrup. Although easy to use, entrance feeders don’t hold enough syrup and don’t do well during cold weather as their liquid may freeze or be inaccessible to bees – leading them to be stolen quickly! They also encourage robbing as their food source lies right outside.
Baggie feeders utilize plastic feed bags with slits cut in them for bee access, which are then placed on a shallow super on top of the hive with its lid closed and protected by inner cover or lid. This system allows beekeepers to monitor resource levels without opening up their hives; and also allows bees access directly into their bags so they can consume their syrup directly.
Inverted Containers
Beekeepers use various containers as inverted feeders, providing they are clean and with their lid secured (preferably using a hive-top feeder), so as to allow for quick filling times. Once full they can be quickly placed back in hives before being collected from them when empty and returned back to the workshop for refilling without disturbing or opening up their beehive.
Some beekeepers employ one of the most cost-effective and economical feeding methods: filling a clean quart mason jar or plastic gallon jug with sugar syrup before punching 6-8 holes in its lid and inverting it over an empty inner cover for secure attachment, placing this feeder within an outer box or super for extra protection from rain and winds. This method has proven highly successful over time.
Rapid Feeders
These bucket feeders are designed to quickly disseminate sugar water to beehives. Their design makes them simple to use and easily identifiable by bees as they approach. Dripping may initially occur; however, bees will quickly collect it around them. It is recommended to use mold inhibitors such as Honey Bee Healthy when using these types of feeders.
These round hive top feeders can help keep bees fed when nectar supplies become scarce during warmer months and dry sugar or pollen as food during winter. They fit shallow 8 and 10 frame supers as well as some 5F nuc boxes depending on inner width, and can also be combined with pollen feeders (replacing pollen patties due to Small Hive Beetle reproduction) for internal feeding of one colony.
