Communal feeding, don't do it this way!!!!!

[Cindi]

Jimmy, yep, you must have been feeding all the neighbouring bees, what a great little story you told.  That would scare me off outside feeding too.  I have not had any issues with robbing bees.  I only know of two beekeepers in about a 5 km radius of my place, maybe even further than that.  Both these beeekeepers that I know only keep two colonies and 5 colonies each, so there is not a huge population of bees (unless there are wild colonies). I am not sure if we have feral honeybees up here or not, I don't think they would live the winter.  There could be summer swarms though living places that may die in winter.  Don't know.

MrILoveTheAnts.  We have similar feeders (gravity feed) for some of the chicken areas.  They sound like your pop bottle feeders, but of course hold a substantial amount more.  Those feeders do sound coool.  I wonder if they sell them still too.  Have a wonderful and beautiful day in our great life.  Cindi

[Brian D. Bray]

Jiminy's story is exactly why I use a 1 gallon can for my communal feeder as well as inside the hive feeder.  Setting up the can gives limited access, puttin it up side down on a board or stand mimics the position of many flowers.  I do not have problems with feeding frenzies when feeding 1 gallon containers that way.  To the bees it's just a flower with lots of nectar.

The U.S. Army went to using comaflouged BDU's instead of the trandition olive drab for better hiding.  If you mimic nature you experience less problems.  Communal feeding can be done successfully if done right, and it does provide a safety valve for those hives that are being fed directly so they aren't robbed.  Done poorly comunity feeding can create a robbing frenzy.