Colonies need to be fed at least twice a year to stimulate their brood. The first feeding should be done in the spring, before the flowering of melliferous plants, and the second - in the fall, before replenishing the winter feed. To organize the feeding of the bees, you need to use special feeders. They come in different types and can be made from scrap materials at home.
Feeder requirements
Structures for feeding bees can have different sizes and shapes, but the standards for them are the same and look like this:
- the capacity of the feeder should be up to 4 kg;
- insects should have free access to food at any time of the day and in any weather;
- bees should not drown in sticky syrup while feeding;
- when feeding, any contact with insects is excluded;
- the beekeeper has the opportunity to estimate the amount of syrup remaining in the feeder in order to add a new portion as needed;
- the design is easy to maintain, since in the future it must be regularly cleaned and washed;
- insects from neighboring hives have no access to the contents of the feed tank.
If the feeder is not designed correctly, it is dangerous for bees, since they will drown in syrup, injure or hypothermia, which ultimately will lead to a drop in the yield of the hive.
Types of structures
There are a large number of models of bee feeders that can be made from a wide variety of materials - wood, plywood, metal, plastic and even foam. In this case, conditionally, these structures are divided into several types, which we will consider below.
Ceiling
This type of trough is great for multi-hive hives as it can be easily installed under the ceiling. It is a rectangular body, the inner part of which is divided by vertical partitions. With its home-made manufacture, experienced beekeepers recommend taking into account such nuances:
- Splinters and twigs can be used as internal partitions. In this case, you need to have some experience with these materials, since there is a risk of death of bees on sticky torches.
- In addition, it is possible to make a raft of four-layer plywood, the size of which on each edge is 4 mm smaller than the feeder itself. In this rectangle, you need to cut tracks 3-4 mm wide, and then cover everything with wax. This raft is very comfortable for the shoulders, because they do not get dirty and do not get stuck in syrup.
- In the feeder, you can make a small canvas so that the bees cannot get inside. The box should be closed with glass or a pillow. To fill the container with food, it is enough to move this partition.
- It is convenient to use funnels to pour syrup into the trough. This will be possible by first making an appropriately sized hole in the feed compartment.
It is better to hang a ceiling feeder in the summer so that the bees receive incentive feeding. Initially, you can use a decanted bar. Bees will take honey from it and begin to build cell cells, which in the future will serve as rafts.
At the end of December, insects should be fed with loose honey, which needs to be filled with half of the feeder. The nest should be checked every few weeks to replenish feed supplies in time. This should be done up to the cleaning flight.
The ceiling feeder is easy to use and has a structure that is comfortable for bees, since they do not sink in syrup. In addition, it allows you to maintain the optimum temperature of the feed, since the bees warm it during flights.
Framework
This feeder is a small wooden container with an open top. It has the length and height of a conventional honeycomb frame, but is slightly larger in width. It is installed in the hive in two ways:
- put on a special bedding;
- are hung on the wall near the nest using special projections on the upper planks or hooks.
The sugar syrup is poured into the frame feeder through the funnel. In order to prevent insects from drowning during feeding, a special raft or lattice must be placed inside the container.
Over-frame
This is a box type feeder that is placed in the hive above the frames. It completely blocks the bee's nest, so they do not have the opportunity to fly out during feeding. 2-3 compartments are made in it, one of which serves as a passage (8-10 mm), and the rest - cells for filling with sugar syrup or honey.
For the manufacture of the box for the trough, materials are used that are not afraid of corrosion. These include wood, aluminum and plastic. The shape of such a box should be rectangular, and the volume should be from 0.5 to 2 liters.
The upper wall in the box is installed in such a way that its upper edge rests against the lid, and a gap of 2-5 mm is formed at the bottom for the feed to flow. From above the overframe model can be covered with plywood, glass or other transparent material to control the volume of syrup or honey. Holes must be made in the lid for feeding.
A similar design is shown in the photo:
Such a feeder must be installed on the canvas, directly above the beehive. In this case, the feed slot must necessarily go across the frames. In order for the bees to enter the feeder, a small hole must be made in the canvas opposite the entrance.
The container can be filled with food in a thin stream through the outer opening. To attract the attention of insects, in front of the bee entrance and on the frame you need to drip feed. After that, the feeder can be closed with a lid and insulated with a pillow.
Outdoor
External feeders consist of a dense box, which is closed from above by a lid held on hinges. In its manufacture, the following rules must be taken into account:
- To ensure free entry of insects into the box, a small hole needs to be made in its back wall.
- In the container itself, you need to put a special bowl for filling with food. It is necessary to put a raft in it so that the bees are completely safe and do not drown in syrup.
The finished feeder can be hung on the back wall of the hive or installed at some distance from it, and then filled with syrup and, if desired, add branches, rafts or grass to it. Thus, the feeding process is very simple, especially when there are no other apiaries nearby.
The external feeder has a significant drawback - the feeding in it quickly cools down and ceases to attract bees. In addition, it is quite difficult for a beekeeper to control the amount of feed received by a particular family.
How to make plastic bottle feeders?
Such feeders are considered a real find for beekeepers, because they do not require large expenses for manufacturing and have a simple structure, but at the same time they allow you to freely control the feed supply due to the possibility of sticking extra holes with tape. In addition, such designs are very easy to operate, as they are easily and quickly washed.
Plastic bottle feeders are ideal for low-lid hives.
It should be noted that intra-plastic feeders can be horizontal and vertical. We will consider separately how to make each of them.
Horizontal
To make such a feeder you need to prepare:
- 2 liter dark-colored plastic bottle;
- Scotch;
- a nail (awl) with a diameter of at least 1.5 mm;
- pencil or marker.
The product is assembled in the following order:
- On one side of the bottle, closer to the neck, draw a line and draw 5-7 points with a diameter of 1.5 mm at the same distance from each other.
- Lay the bottle flat and use a hot nail to make holes at the marked points. Through them, insects will feed. A hole diameter of 1.5 mm is optimal because it will allow the bees to easily get to the feed and not fall into the feeder.
It is better to make the holes with a hot nail, as in this case they will have melted edges, so insects will not get injured during feeding.
- Seal the prepared holes with tape, and then pour the syrup into the bottle.
The finished feeder can be installed in the hive in two ways:
- From two wooden bars, make deliveries on which to horizontally place the bottle with syrup, so that the holes look down. Set the feeders inside the hive, and then peel off the tape.
- On the ceiling of the hive, prepare an installation place for the feeder - a hole cut in the shape of a bottle, but smaller in size, otherwise the container will fall over the honeycomb frames. In the prepared opening, you need to install the feeder with the holes down, and then remove the adhesive tape.
It should be noted that the feeding syrup has a viscous consistency, since the sugar concentration in it is about 60-70%. In this regard, it will not leak out of the tank too quickly, so the bees can feed them without any obstacles and quantity restrictions.
Vertical
To create a vertical type feeder, you will need the same items as in the previous version, namely:
- plastic bottle with a volume of 1.5-2 liters;
- nail (awl);
- pencil or marker;
- Scotch.
A similar container is made as follows:
- At a distance of 1-3 cm from the bottom of the bottle, make holes with a diameter of 1.5 mm using a hot nail. Keep in mind that the thicker the dressing, the more holes you need to prepare. In total there can be up to 12 pieces.
- Seal the holes with tape. In the future, by such manipulation, you can adjust the number of holes, that is, the rate of feed consumption.
- Pour 3/4 syrup into the bottle through the neck and tighten the cap, and then turn the neck down.
- Place the container vertically in the hive between the wall and the frame, and then peel off the tape.
It is worth noting that a vertical feeder can be made box-type, as shown in the photo:
In this case, it is necessary to make several feeders, which will need to be installed in the finished cassette, which must be attached near the bee's nest.
The following video demonstrates how to make simple and effective bee feeders from plastic bottles:
It is better to use a bottle ceiling feeder in the fall, because during this period the bees need concentrated viscous syrup. In the spring, they need water, so the feeders need to be filled with liquid feed. It will quickly flow out of the bottle, which is unacceptable, so you will have to use a different type of feeder.
Homemade can feeders
In each household you can find a tin or glass jar. It can also be used to make a homemade feeder according to the instructions below.
From a tin can
It would seem that a can of canned food is an unsuitable material for making a feeder, but this is not at all true, since this material has several advantages:
- has thin walls that conduct heat well, so the feed in the tank does not freeze for a long time;
- easy to clean, which greatly simplifies the care of the feeder.
To make a feeding tank, it is best to choose wide and small cans. The instruction is as follows:
- Wash the jar with detergent, and then wipe it dry and pour in the top dressing.
- Cover the top with a cotton cloth so that its edges reach the middle of the can. As an alternative, you can use gauze, but it will need to be folded in 3-4 layers.
- To prevent the fabric from slipping, fix it with an elastic band.
- Turn the container over and place it over the nest above the frames. For better access to the feed, you can slightly raise it by placing bars under it. At the same time, small gaps must remain.
From a glass jar
In this case, the principle of action is almost the same. The instruction is as follows:
- Prepare a glass jar with a capacity of 1 liter, into which pour nutritious syrup.
- Fold a large piece of gauze in 8 layers, moisten with water and squeeze, and then attach cans to the neck and tie or fix with an elastic band.
- Attach plywood on top of the gauze, and then turn the can over and set it in the hive on the upper platform. The plywood can then be removed. The syrup will gradually seep through the gauze, so the bees will be able to feed themselves.
Instructions for making a ceiling feeder
This box-type tank is versatile and can be made by beekeepers who have carpentry skills. Its structure is as follows:
This feeder is a box, the length of which corresponds to the length of the hive from the back to the front wall. It is divided into three sections, which can be seen in the diagram:
What kind of offices are we will find out in more detail:
- The compartment where you want to pour the syrup.
- Stern compartment with bee raft, which can be made of several materials - foam, drilled plywood veneer, mosquito netting. The partition that separates the first two compartments should be 1-3 mm from the bottom.
- Small compartment through which insects gain access to the feed compartment. The partition between them should be at a distance of 8 mm from the top. There is no bottom at the bottom, so bees are provided with free passage.
Having figured out the principle of building a feeder, you can make its parts using the following drawings:
When manufacturing a box-type tank, the following recommendations should be taken into account:
- Make grooves from the upper part of the side walls in which to put the covers.
- Cover the aft compartment and the passage for bees with a common glass lid to control the amount of syrup and the feeding process. The filling section can be covered with a fiberboard lid.
- The end and side walls are made of wood, and the bottom is made of fiberboard or plywood, and its smooth side should be directed towards the inside of the tank.
- The structure must be assembled, glued and knocked down with nails or screwed. In this case, it is advisable to use a sealant and PVA glue with the addition of fine sawdust.
- Treat the joints with wax or mastic made of equal amounts of rosin, paraffin and wax. The hot composition must be applied to the walls and grooves of the structure, and then heated with a blowtorch. Thanks to such manipulations, the feeder will be completely sealed.
The finished design must be installed directly in the folds or on the stand. In the second case, it is necessary to provide a hole in advance through which the bees can access the syrup.
Simple feeder from a plastic (food) bag
To create an economical version of the feeder, you can use a regular medium-sized food bag. You need to act this way:
- Pour the syrup into a clean bag, and then tie it tight.
- Open the lid of the hive and lay out the prepared bag.
- Using a syringe needle, make 7-10 holes in the package.
- Close the hive cover.
How to make a foam feeder?
You can make a feed tank out of high-quality foam. It is better to choose a material that is used for packaging furniture and appliances, but you will have to refuse from loose construction foam. In addition, it is worth considering that good material does not smell.
To make a feeder, you need to prepare:
- foam sheet;
- conical container made of food grade plastic with a diameter of 20 cm (neck of a plastic bottle);
- chintz fabric;
- knife;
- gum.
Having prepared everything you need, you can start assembling the structure:
- Cut a disc 3 cm thick from the foam, which must fully correspond to the diameter of the bottle neck. You can use a heated knife or wire for this.
- Place the disc on the bottle so that their surfaces are in the same plane.
- On the outer part of the disc, make small grooves 5 mm wide so that they run perpendicular to each other from one edge to the other. The distance between them should also be 5 mm. For convenient cutting of grooves, it is better to use not a knife, but a fused hot metal rod.
- In the central part of the disk, prepare several holes with a diameter of 7 mm, and then melt 4 grooves along its sides, the depth and width of which should be 5 mm.
- If the trough has a large diameter or the foam is not strong enough, you will need to increase the strength of the structure. To do this, you need to install a spacer between the disc and the bottom of the neck. You can use a plastic bottle to make the spacer, cutting off the bottom and neck to form a cylinder. Along its edges, you need to make a groove for the passage of air and feed.
- Make a filter using a cotton cloth. You need to cut out a circle from it, the diameter of which is several centimeters larger than the diameter of the container. Fill the feeder with syrup, and then secure the prepared fabric with an elastic band. Its folds need to be straightened, and then turn the structure upside down and set over the baking sheet on the slats.
- If syrup spills out, the filter is too thin. To make less feed pass through it, you can use fabric folded in several layers. If the surface of the filter remains dry, then it is too dense, so it will need to be replaced with a thinner cloth.
Ideally, a little syrup should stand out through the filter - no more than 1 tablespoon.
Making an overframe feeder Cornflower
Cornflower is a type of overframe feeder in the form of a rectangular container, the inside of which is separated by a partition. There are special "volcanoes" in the center of each compartment. They should be covered with glasses or 500 ml plastic buckets. The finished structure must be installed on the cover of the hive or on the under-roof.
When designing Cornflower, it is better to use transparent plastic, since it will increase the rate of feeding of insects and is easy to clean.
Useful Tips
When making do-it-yourself feeders, preference should be given to natural or environmentally friendly materials. To make the right choice, you should consider some of the nuances:
- If a polyethylene material is used, it is better to choose transparent food grade polyethylene as it contains fewer harmful substances.
- Colored polyethylene and plastic materials are best avoided as they are made from recycled materials.
- One of the cleanest and safest materials is foam.
There are many designs for feeding bees that are insect safe and easy to use. To save money, the feeder can be easily made by hand by choosing environmentally friendly materials for this, as well as having read the instructions and drawings presented.