Langstroth hives are ideal for beginning beekeepers. Their uniform-sized boxes make expansion easy while wintering better and producing higher honey yields than other types.
Typically, bee hives are constructed with brood boxes on the bottom and honey supers on top; this allows bee colonies to store as much honey and brood as possible in one location.
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Hivetop feeder
The hivetop feeder is an effective and simple way of feeding honeybees without opening their hive. A reservoir holds sugar water which the bees can access through small holes made by narrow dado cuts in wood; usually these holes remain closed; but you may open some or leave others open as entrance/exits if you’re monitoring colony resources without wearing a hood or smoking.
The Hive Top Feeder fits snuggly inside the inner cover of any Langstroth hive. Constructed of clear radiatta pine, and secured together using Titebond III waterproof glue, its construction includes hardware cloth to allow bees access without drowning in syrup box. Easy refill and long lasting; keep sugar syrup warm without smoking or disrupting bees while you refill. With its built-in floats it also fits both 8-frame and 10-frame Langstroth equipment perfectly!
Frame feeder
Frame feeders are excellent options for beehives that have been in cold temperatures or spring, when colonies need to emerge and feed themselves. Their wide surface area means fewer dead bees are found within its confines.
These feeders are often constructed of plastic and feature a cap over their syrup, protecting it from potential theft by bees or thieves and also helping the bees escape drowning in it. Furthermore, their caps and ladders provide texture which aids bees when climbing out.
Another advantage of this style of feeder is that it doesn’t dribble syrup when full, eliminating any risk of it coming into contact with treatments or killing bees that have wandered into it. Furthermore, this makes checking on how much syrup remains easier.
Entrance feeder
An entrance feeder is an effective way to provide sugar syrup supplements when food supplies become low. These feeders fit easily into any gap at the entrance of your hive and make refilling small amounts quickly much simpler than using another means.
These simple feeders consist of an inverted jar with its lid inverted into a feeding tray that fits through a beehive’s entrance slot, so bees can access their syrup through holes in its lid. Beekeepers love these simple devices because you can see exactly how much syrup remains without opening your hive!
They do, however, come with some drawbacks, such as their limited capacity and cold temperature exposure. Furthermore, these entrance feeders may encourage robbing since bees have easy access to syrup through their entrances. Here is an entrance feeder crafted out of plastic that holds one quart and features a perforated lid to help beekeepers avoid robbing while feeding their colonies.
Poly feeder
Langstroth beehives are among the most favored varieties. Key features of this design include its expandable box design and protective upper section that deters vermin. Furthermore, this beehive can easily be managed for both commercial and home apiaries – and easily accessible for harvesting honey or extracting queen cells from brood boxes.
This feeder is constructed of durable polyethylene material that is lightweight and UV protected, featuring stainless steel hardware for ease of moving. Designed to outlive traditional metal bale feeders that rust over time.
It has a well that can be filled with fondant (without wire mesh screen). I find it easiest to fill it up with one big lump of fondant and cut off chunks to feed into my feeder; that way, fondant can be removed without polluting my syrup reservoir.
