Bee feeder - inverted jar feeder

I have had a few people ask me about feeding my honey bees.  I thought I would write a post showing how I do it.

Before I go on, let me clear up a few things before I confuse anyone.

You should not feed in an attempt to 'save the bees', you would be far better growing flowers if that was your intention.  Honey bees are not native to Australia, they won't die out here any time soon.  You don't need to save them, if you want to help honey bees then grow a garden organically.

Please never feed honey to bees unless it is feeding honey back to the hive that you harvested it from.  Feeding honey spreads some really devastating diseases and does all kinds of damage.  Feeding honey back to the hive it was taken from is ok as they already have whatever disease that may be present in it.  Feeding honey anywhere else is not ok.

Please don't just put out bee feeders to feed whatever bees are around or to encourage bees into your yard.  I don't want my bees making 'honey' using sugar syrup that they have collected from some well meaning person's yard.

Again let me stress that if you want to feed random bees or encourage bees into your yard it is far better to grow some flowers.  Many herbs are adored by honey bees.  Fruit trees and fruiting vegetables are also great for bees.  There are also a lot of ornamental flowers and trees that honey bees like, so you have a lot of options if you wish to 'save the bees'.

When I speak of feeding bees I am only talking about feeding my honey bees from my hives at specific times for a specific purpose.

inverted jar feeder with sugar syrup

Some people never feed their bees.  That is fine and I am not telling you that you should ever feed your bees. 

Some people take all the honey in autumn and feed the bees sugar syrup so they don't starve over winter.  I don't like that because nectar and the honey they make from it is far better for bees in many ways than sugar syrup.

As far as possible I like to leave enough honey that they will be ok over winter.  Sometimes things go awry and the bees don't have enough stores to get through winter, this is when I prefer to feed them sugar syrup.  I prefer to have them eat low quality sugar syrup and survive than to have them die over winter.

I feed my bees if I think they need it, I am probably a little over cautious, but I try not to feed very much.  I never feed if I have a super on as I don't want sugar syrup in with my honey.  Honey made with sugar syrup is a poor substitute for real honey made from nectar.

The bees did not return from foraging during the weeks of thick smoke and dust storms

I didn't harvest any honey at all this past summer, I left it all for my bees, but it wasn't enough.  Last summer was extremely harsh.

This last year we have had the worst drought in recorded history for this region and the hottest summer ever recorded in this region.  There were water restrictions so home gardens didn't have many flowers and my water tank was almost empty so my garden suffered badly.  Local farmers did not grow the crops of lucerne or canola that they usually have.  The drought and the excessive heat meant there was very little forage for the bees to collect.

We also experienced many weeks of thick choking smoke.  This prevented the bees from leaving the hive to forage.  When they did leave to forage they rarely returned to the hive as the smoke would blow in and disorient them.  There were days that were clear and half an hour later I could not see my fence through the smoke, the foraging bees didn't have a chance.

Over summer we also had several large dust storms on otherwise clear days.  Many bees left the hive to forage, then the dust came in fast and they never returned home.

inverted jar feeder - the bees glue it down with propolis

My bees also swarmed in spring when I was away, this was my fault.  The swarm took a lot of workers and all of the stored honey.  It meant that my bees had few workers, no stores, and a nightmare summer with very little resources around to try and replenish them. 

All of the above meant that leading into winter my bees had very little honey stored even though I did not harvest any.

Due to their lack of stored food I decided to feed them this winter to keep them alive. 

There are a lot of different types of bee feeders that you can buy, and a few that you can make.  I am fond of inverted jar feeders.

I just use an old jar.  I clean it out, use a thumb tack to push a few holes in the lid, I invert the jar and place it over the hole in my inner cover.  Unless the sun shines on it the thing doesn't drip, the bees drink the liquid, and all works well.  I have an empty box on top of the inner cover, this keeps the feeder out of the sun and prevents it from dripping on the brood.

Inverted jar over the hole in the inner cover

You will notice the box I used is an ideal super.  It was used previously for that hive.  I also insulate the box above the inner cover.

This roof insulation helps the bees regulate the hive temperature over winter.  More importantly it prevents water dripping from the inner cover on the brood.

The hive roof is insulated so water does not condense on it, the hive walls are not insulated so water condenses on them.  The bees can drink some of this water or it just trickles down the walls and runs out the bottom of the hive.  The important part is there is no dripping on the brood or cluster.

It doesn't really matter how cold it gets as long as there is no dripping.

I have insulated the top box above the inner cover, if the jar is not in there I plug the hole

More insulation over the top, a single piece would be better but this works well enough

The roof goes over the top of the insulation and the jar feeder

I strap the roof down, the wind gets strong here

With an inverted jar feeder no bees ever drown, being inside the roof above the top cover means I am only ever feeding my bees, I am not encouraging robbing, there is no increase spread of disease, and the bees can use the feeder in cold or wet weather when they usually couldn't leave the hive.  Every day or every few days I can replace the jar with a full one, I don't need to use a smoker, I don't need to open the hive, and I don't need to wear any protective gear.  It is very simple.

Other types of feeder are good, but for backyard hobbyists like who don't want to spend money these inverted jars are free to make and simple to use.  I can use whatever size jar I want, and I can put in as much or as little sugar syrup as I want.  I also don't have to replace it when it is empty unless I want to.  It is very versatile and leaves me with a lot of options.