Hey, it's me again.
I have a feeding question, well a duo really. I did a search on feeding here but didn't see an answer that really fit.
It seems that most people here feed pretty regularly, and most of the questions are when is too early or when is too late. I am wondering how do you know if you need to feed?
I haven't been into my hive yet. (I know I know I CAN'T WAIT!! but I'm planning on going in on Saturday when I can do it in the middle of the day and it's supposed to be sunny, I read that that is the best time and since it will be my first time I thought that would be good, especially since it's been a little cloudy and windy this week. Plus I'm waiting on my veil's to get here. )
anyway, I haven't been in yet, but tonight my bees seem to be much less active and aren't hanging on the porch like usual. They are still flying in and out some adn I saw one or two with orange sacs full, but they aren't really hanging outside much, like before. It has been cooler, and I removed the props from the top cover that I did to give them more air, thinking maybe they are cold now, but I'm worried that they are hungry. So how do you know if you need to feed them? I live in the city of Atlanta, so not really any fields, just yards full of flowers. What should I look for on Saturday to know if I should feed or not?
Secondly, someone said you can fill a ziploc baggy with 1:1 and then cut a small slice in it, and place it between the inner cover and the outer cover and that is a good way to feed to cut down on robbing. Has anyone else heard of this? I don't have much (any) equipment and there aren't any stores in Atlanta, so I was thinking this would be a good way to try. Any opinions? Ideas?
Thanks for any help. I'm learning so much reading here, but mostly I'm learning that I know nothing!
ziffa