Wasp guard in place.
You should add feeders to your Beehaus in the early evening when most
of the bees have stopped flying. When you start to feed your bees, the
hive will become very active and the excitement can spread to other hives
and lead to robbing by other bees. It is a good idea to put your wasp
guard in to help reduce any possible robbing.
Note: You should never open a hive without protective clothing. When
you are refilling a feeder, you should wear your veil, gloves and also have
your smoker handy.
What time of day is best to feed?
Adding a bag of syrup
To add a pre prepared bag of syrup, simply put the clearer board on top of
the bag and prick 10-12 holes through the hole in the clearer board. Then
turn the bag and clearer board over and place over the brood.
Prick the bag with a pin to make 10-12
holes. Do not use a drawing pin, the
holes will be too big.
Remove the bee escape from the
clearer board.
A large circular feeder.
Put an empty super on top.
Turn the feed and board over together
and place over the brood.
Place over the bag of syrup.
Feeder types
Pre-packed feed
By far the most convenient way to
feed your bees is to use the pre-
prepared bags of syrup or fondant.
These have the advantage that they
are an exact mixture of fructose and
glucose and are easily digested by
the bees. They are put directly onto
the Beehaus and it’s easy to keep
track of how much feed you have
given the bees.
Contact Feeder
This is a simple plastic tub with a
mesh bottom through which the
bee suck the syrup. They range in
size – but the Beehaus can hold a
2.5 litre contact feeder. To use, fill
the tub with sugar syrup and close
the lid so that it is airtight. You
should never partially fill the feeder
as this will stop it forming a vacuum
inside. Turn the feeder upside down
over the feeder hole on the clearer
board. The bees will then suck the
syrup from the mesh.
Frame Feeders
These are the same shape as a
normal frame and they are placed
inside the brood box. They have
floats, ledges or wire mesh which
stops the bees from drowning.
These are simple to use but are
not recommended for winter
feeding, as you have to open the
brood box to fit and refill them.
Generally frame feeders hold
around 2 litres of syrup (i.e. 8kg
of sugar).
Circular or Rapid Feeder
A circular feeder uses the same
technique as frame feeder However
the feeder is located in a super, in the
same way as a contact feeder. You
can place this kind of feeder directly
on top the clearer board (without
the bee escape). Generally circular
feeders hold around 1 litre of syrup
and the bees remove the syrup very
quickly – so you will often need to
refill the feeder every day.
Feeder Comparison Chart
We recommend using either pre prepared feed or a contact feeder in
your Beehaus. Although this is not the fastest method of giving bees the
syrup, it is easy to handle and you can give the bees a large amount of
syrup in a single visit to the hive.
Feeders come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and it can sometimes be
confusing. Here is rough guide to the basic types of feeder.
TYPE SURFACE AREA VOLUME
Pre-prepared Feed Small Medium
Contact Feeder Small Large
Frame Feeder Medium Medium
Circular Feeder Large Small
Pre-packed feed is available at
www.omlet.co.uk/shop/syrup
A 2.5 litre contact feeder.
www.omlet.co.uk/shop/contact
A frame feeder in place.
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