Hive feeders
Of all the variety of feeders proposed and described in the literature for bees, we will focus only on those that meet the requirements to the greatest extent.
A wooden feeder placed above the frame is very comfortable, widely distributed on apiaries. It is made of plywood and boards 0.5-1 cm thick, looks like a flat box. Figure 18 shows the feeder recommended by the Institute of Beekeeping. It holds 4 liters of food, and her and the nest can be well insulated with cushions available in the hive.
From the bottom of the feeder there is a longitudinal slit 1 cm wide, from which a narrow passageway is inside the box. The bees fall into the feeder from below, through this narrow slit, and rise along the aisle. Its walls do not reach the roof of the feeder for 1 cm, so the bees, reaching the end of the passage, turn to the right and enter the compartment with food and flesh.
If the bees are given food from a large open vessel, then they gather in large quantities, hang over the fodder, break off and sink. To avoid the death of bees, a light wooden raft with 2-3 mm slots is always placed on the liquid, through which the bees suck the food.
As the bees take the food, it comes from the large compartment of the box to the smaller one, connected to the first slit near the bottom of the feeder. The gap is more convenient to make a width of 0.5 cm. At the same time, the food is completely used by bees. If the gap is made 2-3 mm wide, the bees will not have access to a large compartment with food. Part of the food in the large box will remain and can ferment.
New feeding troughs before use must be poured hot with linseed oil, and the places of joining of the dolce and plywood – with molten wax. Drying oil protects the plywood from delamination, and wax – from percolation.
Before distributing the syrup, the feeders should be thoroughly washed and, after pouring
When feeding bees in the cold season for the passage of bees into the feeder, a little canvas is bent at the back wall of the hive; if in the nest the streets are laid with slats, then take out 2 slats, opening the outermost streets. The feeder is placed so that the gap is above the open space for bees. For the best placement of the feeder and the insulation of the nest on hives that do not have paving stones, empty stores are put up.
The frame-frame is very convenient for feeding bees.
It, like the usual nesting frame, is placed in a hive, closer to the nest, separated from the free space in the hive by an insert board and insulated in the usual way.
The most reliable and convenient in use is a trough-frame made of a wooden bar, in which the hollow is hollowed out. The length of the bar, including the hangers, on which the feeder hangs in the hive, is 470 mm (hangers have a length of 18 mm, the feeder itself – 435 mm). The breadth and height of the trough may be different.
Feeders-frames (see Figure 18) with a capacity of 4 liters occupy the entire frame clearance. The bottom and side bars for the frame-feeder should have a thickness of 1.5-2 cm. On both sides the frame is clogged with two sheets of plywood. Inside the trough is placed a raft. To the feeder does not leak, plywood is nailed with small nails, putting a narrow ribbon of thin iron. Nails are driven in at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other. That bars are not pricked from a large number of nails, they are made of softwood (linden, birch). Before use, the feeder is covered with a layer of hot drying oil. Slots are filled with molten wax or paraffin.
In the feeding trough it is convenient to pour the feed with systematic feeding, in addition, their use makes it possible to have a nest warmed as well as without a feeder. However, they also have disadvantages: too deep feeders are difficult to wash, for the installation of the feeder it is necessary to push and sometimes to remove the frames.
Bird feeders. A glass liter pot can be used as a bean feeder. To do this, pour the food up to the top and tie it with a canvas folded in 2-3 layers (depending on the density of matter). Through the pores of matter, bees suck fodder. Feeding cans are convenient to use for stimulating feeding. In this case, the cans with food are closed with plastic caps, in which nail holes of 0.8 mm diameter are made for picking up food by bees. The number of holes can be adjusted the rate of picking up the feed. For example, you can make 2 holes in the lid, and then the bees will take 200-250 g of feed per day and, therefore, a liter bank will allow the family to take top-dressing in small doses for 4-5 days.
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