1gal pail feeder

I'm using one gallon pail feeders and Honey B Healthy purchased from P.N. Williams.  It's seems easier to make large batches of syrup and have two pail feeders per hive.

• bees take a few minutes to clear the pail feeder and if a pail feeder is left completely empty, then propolis may cover the pail feeder screen
• electrical tape helps line-up the pail feeder screen and inner cover hole
• inverting the pail feeder over a bucket helps control ant attracting spills

These bee packages have been fed continuously since May.  According to my counting board results, this has been my best year for controlling small hive beetles and varroa mites--this is also the first year with Lula Georgia bee packages and continuous feeding with Honey B Healthy. 

According to the official climate summary, this is a record setting warm summer which followed a prolonged winter--as always it seems difficult to apply the conventional rules of a normal beekeeping year when no two years have the same weather.  As I heard Malcolm T. Sanford says, "all bee keeping is local," meaning that continuous feeding may not work in your apiary.

3qt deep division board feeder experience

Here is my experience with a 3qt deep division board feeder.  I fed two new bee packages using a deep division board feeder, where the feeder took the place of one outermost deep frame.  The new feeders were tested for leaks using water, then 3qts of syrup (plus Honey-B-Healthy) was added and topped up with more syrup as needed. I opened the small black door and poured syrup into the middle filling compartment which raised the floats and bees too.  If the bees became defensive, then I:

• try to slow down my (hand) movements
• slid (not removed) the inner cover to the right exposing only the feeder

 

A second deep box was added when all the wax strips had lots of comb.  I moved one frame of comb (as bait) and the deep division board feeder to the second deep box.  After seven weeks, comb inside the feeders began to interfere with the floats and the division board feeders were replaced with wax strips and I started pail feeding.

 

Now I get to inspect the empty feeders.  In one empty feeder, no (zero) drowned bees are discovered.  In the other empty feeder, three drowned bees are in the central filling compartment.  What a relief not to find too many dead bees.  On the web I read the experiences of others using less sophisticated division board feeders that have a tendency to collapse or drown bees.

3lb. bee packages; Dixie Bee Supply; Lula Georgia

My first solo experience with a bee package.  I mostly tried to repeat the installation demonstration given by the bee package supplier, Don.  Next time....if I do another bee package installation, I would try to:

• wet the bees more
• less bumping and more rolling-out of the wet bees
• start the installation much latter in the afternoon (towards dusk) to minimize flight time