Plastic frame feeder 1,5 kg ANEL®

01 · HOW IT GOES IN AND WHAT IT IS FOR

One more frame, full of syrup at nest temperature

It hangs by its top bar like any frame, usually at one end of the nest. Sitting inside the hive's own volume, the syrup stays at cluster temperature — which is what makes them take it — and it fills the gap an empty frame would leave. At 1.5 kg it is a feeder for measured doses: it suits nucs, recovering colonies and spring stimulation, not a winter load. Being narrow, it adds no height: the hive closes exactly as before.

02 · THE RIBS ARE NOT ENOUGH

Cork, straw or twigs: the difference between feeding and drowning

The wall carries anti-slip ribs so bees can climb in and out without sliding, and they help — but daily users agree they are not enough on their own. The fix costs nothing and is always the same: drop in pieces of cork, a handful of straw or dry grass, or a few twigs that float and cover a good part of the surface. Put them in after pouring the syrup and check they are afloat and spread along the whole length, not bunched at one end. The more surface you cover, the fewer bees fall in — and those that do find something to grip.

03 · SIZE AND FORMAT

Straight into Langstroth and Dadant US; into Blatt with a trim

The top bar measures 480 mm, and as with any frame it is the top bar that has to rest on both rebates. At that size it goes straight into Langstroth and Dadant US — the Spanish measure. For Dadant Blatt, the French one, you have to trim half a centimetre off the side lugs and it then seats properly; it is a clean cut with a knife and a minute's work. The body is 130 mm deep by 35 wide, so it occupies a single frame space.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

It is made of high-strength food-grade plastic and washes in hot water between uses. It is an internal feeder, with what that implies: the syrup is protected and warm, but refilling means opening the hive — anyone feeding in cold or wet weather usually prefers a crown-board type. And the standing rule: do not feed during a commercial flow or with supers on for harvest.