New MM Nucs Feeder Drowning

[Tony M]

Just a word to the wise, bought a few MM poly nucs (new design) put some treated syrup on yesterday in top feeder, checked today all 3 nucs have drowned bees on bottom of gap between feeder entrance / syrup wall. Gap between them too big maybe?

Just seen the same problem on a Maisies nuc that's just "come home" following the addition of bees & brood to boost numbers. I've put a strip of "modelling mesh" (handy stuff, btw) on the walls and bottom of the feeding slot to allow them to climb out of the syrup more easily. Hopefully that will sort things out.

Tony.

 

[kevrhcfag]

Don't think the bottom matters tbh, just need to make the gap big enough so they can manoeuvre if they get themselves into syrup. I didn't bother trying to alter it as only feeding small amount of thymol syrup and going to feed fondant so just threw in some wood chippings and removed walls as a quick fix. I will replace cover and walls with mesh and decrease gap that way.

 

[bontbee]

I had the same prob with the new MM poly nuc feeder. When I watched what was going on I found that the Perspex(?) clear cover was too smooth and, as they walked over it, they lost grip and dropped into the syrup and ended up trying, unsuccessfully, to do backstroke. Having sanded the Perspex, the problem seems to have been sorted.