hive top feeder for my bees.
The premise is a simple one. This goes on top of the hive. It is filled with sugar water and you put the hive cover on top of this. The bees come up from the hive, go under the white area and sip out the sugar water, take it back to their hive and build comb.
Simple really. But I have never been able to get it to work.
So when I picked up the two containers of bees on Sunday I asked the bee expert. He told me that I was doing it wrong. I was putting sticks inside for them to land on like I do for a side feeder. No, no, no, the man answered. Just fill it with sugar water, let them come up from the hive and you won't have masses of bees die.
I did follow the directions with hive 1 (hive 2 and 3 have side feeders). I wanted to make sure that it would work before I got another top feeder going. Checked today and a mass of bees are dead. Growl, growl, growl.
There are still plenty left and I was able to free the queen from her little box so I am hopeful. Will let you know what happens.
3 comments:
Oh man. I can imagine how frustrating that is. My great-grandfather had bees and he loved them so. He was legally blind toward the end of his life and he used to tell a story of how a bee led him from the hive back to the house once when he couldn't find his way. :) I was little and gobbled it up. I don't know if he was teasing me or not. hehe Good luck!
why are your bees dying? might it be connected to that bee problem going around?
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