Feeding question

[Stone]

I drill some holes in the cover of a one gallon plastic bucket, fill it with syrup and invert it right on top of the top bars of the upper box.  I then surround it with an empty medium and place the inner cover, foam insulation and an empty vented feeding super on top. Then the outer cover. 

My question is this: Is there any harm in leaving the feeding pail inside like this all winter?  I figure if we have a warm day or two, it would be available and warm because it is not on the outside of the hive.

[Finski]

.
It is December, snow showers in NY Delaware during next  week. You are feeding bees.
From where did you get an idea to do this?

How  do you know that they do not have enough food stores?

Do you have looked, how many frames the bee cluster covers/ total.
and how many frames there are capped food outside the cluster?

[S.M.N.Bee]

Stone

The sugar syrup will most likely crystallize and plug the holes in the cover. Feeding fondant,dry or wetted sugar would be better.

John

[Stone]

Thanks, John.  I guess when I have the opportunity, I'll remove the syrup and save it for the spring.

Finski, I should have given some background first. We got hit with an incredibly long warm snap up here until this week. Most days in November were in the 50's and some well into the sixties.  Bees were flying all over the place and consumed a good deal of their stores for winter.  Hives were pitiably light.  Absolutely HAD to feed on those warm days when there was opportunity. The cold is here now and I'm well aware it is very unlikely that they will take this syrup on top at this time.

That's my answer.  :)

[Vance G]

Look up mountain camp feeding.  I think that might be your best bet now.   Good insurance and if they don't use it over the winter, salvage it and mix it to 1:1 in the spring.  I put it on a struggler a couple months ago and it is a hard grainy cake absorbing moisture from the cluster. 

[rdy-b]

 stone ; Did you get the *winter* patie we ran up the flag pole in the other thread- :lol:
let us know how this turns out--might be good Insurance policy -- ;)  RDY-B

[Stone]

rdy-b,

Didn't get those winter patties yet.  I don't know if I will.  The shipping on the winter patties cost almost as much as the patties themselves!  My eleven hives took in almost 125 pounds of sugar. That's almost 20 gallons of syrup. (I get it from Restaurant Depot at less that $0.60/lb - very economical.)    I hope that's enough for them for the rest of the winter.

I don't like to feed.  I always plan on leaving plenty of honey for my hives, but this warm snap took us all unawares.