Frame Feeder 6 Litre - In-Hive Syrup Feeder, Full Depth

A Six Litre In-Hive Syrup Feeder That Keeps Robbers Out

Autumn feeding in Australia has one big problem, and it is not the bees you are feeding. It is everyone else's. An entrance feeder in March is a sign on the front door, and within an hour of filling it the wasps and the neighbour's bees have found it. A weak colony that needed the syrup is now fighting for its life on the landing board.

A frame feeder solves that by putting the syrup inside the hive. It hangs in the brood box like a frame and holds six litres, and the bees walk up to it from the cluster without anything leaving the front door. This one is a plastic trough with a wooden top that doubles as a lid, sized for a full depth box in place of two frames.

Why Six Litres Inside Beats a Jar at the Entrance

Six litres is a full feed for a hive going into winter, or a fortnight of stimulus feeding in spring, so you fill it once rather than every second day. Because it sits against the cluster, the syrup stays warm enough for the bees to take it on cold evenings when they will not fly to an entrance feeder at all. Nothing is on show outside, so robbing never gets started.

Filling It, and Keeping Bees Out of It

Lift the lid, slide the wooden top across and pour. You open the hive, but you do not pull a frame or break the cluster. Every frame feeder needs a float: a handful of straw, pine bark or wood chips on the syrup gives bees that fall in something to climb out on. Put it in the first time you fill the feeder and top it up when it goes soggy.

Syrup, Timing and When to Take It Out

Use thick syrup, two parts sugar to one part water by weight, for building winter stores in autumn, and thin syrup, one to one, for bringing on brood in early spring. Keep the feeder in only while you are feeding. An empty feeder left in the hive for a month comes out full of wild comb, and old syrup grows mould. Pull it, wash it and store it dry.

What It Is Not

It takes the space of two frames, so a 10-frame box runs eight combs with the feeder in. That is fine in autumn when the colony is shrinking and a nuisance in a spring flow, when a top feeder is the better choice. It is sized for full depth boxes only and it is not a water feeder, which is a job for the entrance water bowl adaptor.

Specifications

• Capacity: 6 litres
• Fits: full depth box, in place of two frames
• Body: plastic trough with wooden top
• Width: 8cm
• Pack: single or pack of 3
• Float: not included, add straw, bark or wood chips

How much syrup does the frame feeder hold?

Six litres, a full feed for a hive going into winter or about a fortnight of stimulus feeding in spring.

Why feed inside the hive?

Syrup inside the hive is out of sight, so wasps and other bees do not find it and robbing never gets started.

How many frames does it replace?

Two frames. A 10-frame box runs eight combs with the feeder in.

Does it fit nuc or shallow boxes?

No. It is sized for full depth boxes only.

Do I need to open the hive to refill it?

Yes. You lift the lid and slide the wooden top across, but you do not pull a frame or break the cluster.

Why do I need a float?

A float of straw, pine bark or wood chips gives bees that fall in something to climb out on. Without it a frame feeder drowns more bees than it should.

What syrup ratio should I use?

Two parts sugar to one part water by weight for autumn winter stores, and one to one for early spring brood build-up.

How long can I leave the feeder in the hive?

Only while you are feeding. An empty feeder left for a month fills with wild comb, and old syrup grows mould.

Can I use it to give bees water?

No. It is a syrup feeder. The entrance water bowl adaptor does that job.

Is it a good choice during a spring flow?

Not if you need every frame. Switch to a top feeder, since this one takes the space of two frames.