What are bee feeders?

As a beekeeper, do you know what are the most important things for bees? 

There are three essential things for bees, which are water, carbohydrates, and pollen. When bees have natural food sources (nectar and pollen) available, it’s best not to feed your colony. However, new colonies with no resources stored will benefit from feeding for a few weeks. During the period when bees are short of resources, bees might need some help from beekeepers. 

When do you feed bees?

Normally, bees should have plenty of honey stored and beekeepers would not need to feed them. However, there are some times that honey bees need feeding:

1. There is a poor nectar flow and the bees might not be able to store enough honey.
2. When beekeepers have a newly installed hive which can take bees a few days or weeks to draw out a comb and begin filling it with nectar and pollen. This can occur at any time of the year. 
3. When there’s a need for emergency feed. Beekeepers may need to feed their bees particularly when there’s a limited supply of nectar. This would avoid the chances of the bees dying because of starvation.
4. When preparing for winter. Beekeepers should leave some honey in store for the bees to survive during winter. This will help the bees thrive in colder months when they cannot leave the hive or there’s no available nectar source.
5. When the bees are coming out of winter. After winter, beekeepers can simulate nectar flow through the use of sugar syrup, making the bees believe that it’s now time to build their numbers.

How to use a Bee Feeder?

Beekeepers and bees have different preferences and needs, which means the ideal bee feeder can vary from one colony to the next. Therefore, selecting the right bee feeder can be difficult for those who are just beginning their beekeeping journey. There are two most common types of feeders used in hives, which are the frame feeder and the bucket or can (gravity) feeder. Both types of bee feeders have their merits and potential drawbacks. Let’s get into the different types of bee feeders to select from. 

What is a frame feeder?

A frame feeder, which fits inside of a hive in place of one or more frames in the brood nest. The frame feeders come in different volumes, most commonly one, one and a half, and two gallon sizes for deep boxes that are respectively 2”, 2.5”, and 3” wide, and for mediums a one gallon 3” wide model. Some older frame feeders made of folded and wax-dipped tin are occasionally encountered, but everything currently commercially available is molded plastic.

What is a top feeder?

A top feeder is placed on the top of the hive, and under the outer cover. A Top feeder is great for feeding raw or dry white sugar in the early and mid-winter. The top feeder has several advantages including:

1. You don’t disturb the colony, because you don’t have to completely open the hive to refill it.

2. You don’t have to fill the feeder more than once every week or two.

We provide several different types of top feeders, including 8 frames, 10 frames with different shapes like square and round. The 8-frame feeder will hold 2 gallons of syrup and the 10-frame model will accommodate 2.5 gallons of syrup. Easy to feed your bees.

What is an entrance feeder?

Entrance feeders consist of a feed jar that sits outside the hive and a feeding tray that slides into the hive’s entrance for easy access.

Entrance feeders are placed at the entrances of the beehive, they are cheap and the feeder boxes are especially suitable for adding water in spring season. 

However, because entrance feeders are put at the entrance, if the beehives are fed with syrup, the other bees in the other beehives may also fly in, resulting in different colonies being blocked at the entrance of the feeder box. 

We provide various types of bee feeders, including frame feeder, top feeder, and entrance feeder with different shapes and frames to choose from. We have the best choice of feeders on the market. Please check our product link for bee feeders.

Kevin Trading, we are an import company located in Melbourne, and we have sold the best beekeeping supplies & equipment available to beekeepers throughout Australia. We stock all the necessary beekeeping equipment required to be a successful apiarist. If you have any questions, please contact us.