Why are my bees drowning in sugar syrup

[Peterwh]

I have a full size plastic contact feeder that I've used successfully before with a National hive. I recently got a new swarm from a beekeeper friend of mine. I attempted to feed the swarm with 1:1 sugar syrup but instead of taking the syrup down quickly, the bees are just getting stuck in the syrup and drowning. I've lost about 30 bees in two weeks.

Nowmally when I use this feeder the bees line up in numbers at the syrup surface taking it up. This time just the odd bee walks down to the syrup and invariably, doesn't make the return journey.

Any ideas?

 

[keith pierce]

did you put tymol in it

 

[malawi2854]

Is it possible that the feeder isn't quite closed properly, so the syrup is leaking out quicker than the bees can shift it, and are getting stuck in a syrup river?

 

[Peterwh]

No. Just cleaned the feeder with hot water and used granulated sugar and warm water, the same as I always do.

 

[Peterwh]

No. With this feeder there are two cones poking up and through the syrup. There is a clear plastic cover over each dome. The bees have to climb up the inside of the dome and walk down between the dome and the plastic cover to get to the syrup. Then they have to turn round and climb back up.

 

[tonybloke]

so, not a contact feeder?

possible reason is surface of 'cones' is too smooth. roughen with sandpaper and try again?

 

[Peterwh]

The cones have little ridges on them so I don't think it is a smoothness problem. I'd already considered that. You can watch them through the clear cover. They walk down. Get tangled up in the syrup and can't extract themselves. I've used this same feeder many times very successfully.

 

[susbees]

Check the ramp for any signs of grease/oil at all. I had this with a cast, they just kept piling up dead in the feeder. No idea who had washed it out, just one of the pile in the shed. Swapping the feeder (with the same syrup), sorted instantly. And mine are the rectangular ones with the ramp at one end so no "contact" issues re leaking.

Try removing, washing thoroughly and try again...

 

[Flatters]

You may want to have a read of this thread http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=10144&highlight=drowning

I had to put a bowl of syrup in a Nuc as an emergency to help revive a chilled cast swarm. I tried to make a ramp and thought the bees would be OK but about 30 drowned in just two days. I quickly made a plywood frame feeder and used fishing line PVA'd in lines inside. I also put a piece of balsa just smaller that the feeder inside it as a float. When I refilled this there was not one bee drowned.

 

[Peterwh]

If I didn't explain myself very well, it's an internal, hive top feeder of the Bro. Adam type, except that the cones are round instead of square and it is made of plastic.

 

[Peterwh]

I checked it out. It's a Maisemore jumbo rapid feeder

 

[Hivey League]

I use the trusty canning jar top feeders,simply because they're pretty much trouble free.I just punch 6 or so holes with a 6d nail in the lid,and cut my hole so the jar fits well and doesn't get blown over by wind.No drowning,no fuss!

 

[danro]

We have those round top feeders and had a similar problem.
One solution was to put twigs etc in the syrup so any bee falling in can quickly climb aboard a twig, clean itself off and fly back to the cone.

We still has fatalities but not as many.

HTH

Danro

 

[djg]

I had a few, but quite negligible, fatalities when using this particular feeder earlier this year - but I felt that it was mostly my fault.

I was guilty of taping the feeder to the super frame below (which I wanted the AS'd colony to draw), since the imperfect fit with my super could have allowed robbers in.

It was during a hot spell and the 1:1 syrup had developed black mould spot 14 days later (I did not remove the feeder taped to the super for the intervening inspection) and it had only been taken down 2/3, despite a tiny drop of lemongrass added at the start to encourage feeding.

I'm sure that the lack of ventilation and mouldly syrup did not help in my case - I'll not repeat those mistakes!