Deep Plastic Division Board Feeder 3kg

01 · THE FLOATS

They stop bees drowning — and they have to go in

Two floats come in the pack and it is not always clear what they are for: with liquid syrup, they give the bee somewhere to stand while she drinks. Without them, the one that slips to the bottom does not come out. Set them floating on the liquid every time you refill, and check them at the next visit: if the level has dropped a lot they can strand against a side. With solid feed or paste they are not needed.

02 · INSIDE THE HIVE

No robbing and no cold syrup

Sitting between the frames rather than at the entrance or outside, the syrup stays at nest temperature and the bees feed without going out. That is what stops robbing, which is the real risk of feeding in summer. Another advantage of the format: the filling mouth is in the middle and wide enough for a tube or funnel, so you can refill from the super above without lifting it — one less job per hive.

03 · THE LUGS AND PROPOLIS

Free it with the hive tool before you pull

It is the part that breaks most, and always the same way: the bees propolise the support lugs and if you pull dry, the lug gives before the propolis does. Run the hive tool down both sides as you would with a stuck frame, and only then lift it straight up. It also pays to rinse it at the end of the season: syrup left to dry in the bottom ferments and is harder to shift next year than it is on the day.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

This is the Langstroth one. Other measures have their own version: Dadant Blatt 4 kg, Dadant US 4 kg and Layens 2 l — the frame is not interchangeable between formats. And there is no shallow-super version as a frame feeder: for that depth, the 1.7 l over-frame feeder or a top feeder.