Open or External Feeding
When and when NOT to use it.
I guess it makes sense to start with a list of various feeding methods. I’ll do this to clear up any misconceptions that some of my social media posts may have created. Imagine that! Social media? Misunderstanding? It happens! ;-)
Internal frame feeders with cap and ladders
Internal frame feeders without cap and lasers
Top feeders
Individual hive bucket/jug feeders
Bottle/pro nuc top feeders
Round internal feeders
Front/Boardman feeders
Community/open tub feeders
Community/open bucket feeders
Apimaye/built in top feeders
I might not have gotten those in the exact order of my preference, but you’ll get the idea!
My preference is almost always internal feeding.
Community, open, external feeding should be used sparingly, if at all, in the right situation, in the right location, for the right reasons!
Some beekeepers, more so on the hobbyist side, would argue that you should never ever open feed. And, while that might make sense on the hobbyist side, there are commercial and variations of commercial applications, and even occasions where it’s OK ( if not ideal ) to open feed as a hobbyist.
But let’s get started with when NOT to open feed!
Unless you have a very generous budget for sugar and syrup, you won’t want to open feed very often. Especially when there are other beekeepers nearby. Otherwise, you are feeding someone else’s bees and potentially inviting their problems (pests and disease) or spreading yours, in the process.
If there is a honey flow on, you do not want to open feed. In addition to wasting syrup potentially (because the bees will often prefer better nectar sources) in most cases leaving your syrup to ferment or dry up. It’s also important to note that the syrup and additives can destabilize or influence the flavor of the actual nectar and honey that is being collected. This would be true in your own Supers as well as those of your neighbors. So you could unknowingly ruin another beekeeper’s harvest, or your own.
You should also avoid open feeding or external feeding for long periods of time. A few days or perhaps up to a week to bolster a struggling apiary’s resources should be about it.
And you should also avoid open feeding or external feeding too close to your hives as it can encourage robbing of a weak hive.
Basically, if supers are on, you should not be feeding.
Here are a few counterpoint to some of the cautionary statements previously made:
When you consider other shared resources such as an abandoned hive, a high density nectar source during a nectar flow, etc. the risk of exposure to your bees, their bees, any bees, is about the same as if you were open feeding. If you look online you can find an image or video of varroa mites moving from one bee to another. And given the drift of bees from one colony to another, it is already likely that pests and disease will be spread regardless. So managing your hives responsibly should assume exposure to other bees while out foraging.
You can also note that open feeding of syrup and pollen can change the demeanor of bees in a bee yard. For example, if you are going to be working in a large Apiary and you know that there is a shortage of resources in the area or if you simply know that you’ll be doing a lot of splits and going deep into the hives, you could open feed a little bit of dry pollen or syrup and the bees might be calmer in general then they would be otherwise.
If you find an Apiary is really struggling and starving and beginning to cannibalize brood, and you want to get syrup distributed quickly, then open feeding is an option. You may choose to do some open feeding for a little while before going into the hives that are starving to use internal feeders. Top feeders are nice as well, especially if you want to put weight on a hive quickly.
Regarding “if supers are on, you should not be feeding”, I would add: unless drawing out comb in supers that will be fed back to the bees later before the comb can be refilled with real nectar aka not for sale or for human consumption.
Did that make sense? :-) I’m sure you got the idea.
As noted above, where possible, internal feeding is by far my preferred method. But there are situations and time frames in which I use community or open or external feeding.
Here are a few other recommendations for you:
If you haven’t done it yet, get your Bees ordered! www.BeeResQ.com in the Kansas City area offers pickup and delivery/setup/install in and around the Kansas City Metropolitan area.
Knowing how awkward it can be to bring home a nuc and be unable to install it in your hive equipment if it doesn’t match, you may want to consider the kits with bees on the website.
If you are interested in lightweight durable be suits and jackets, take a look at the ComfortPro brand on the website. The suits and jackets come with both types of veils. They tend to be a little bit cooler than the Ultrabreese brand of suits. But they are not quite as durable. For most backyard and hobbyist beekeepers they are a good and expensive option. If you look around a little bit you might even see me working semi loads of bees using this brand of suits and jackets. :-)
As always if you have questions or comments feel free to share or reach out.
Have a great season! :-)
- Mike at BeeResQ