Beekeepers often feed sugar to bees before or during dearth periods. In temperate regions, the dearth period is winter, when temperatures fall to 0°C or below. However, in the tropics dearth periods occur either during dry periods...
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Beekeepers often feed sugar to bees before or during dearth periods. In temperate regions, the dearth period is winter, when temperatures fall to 0°C or below. However, in the tropics dearth periods occur either during dry periods or prolonged rainy periods. The dearth period is a time of lower activity, when few or no bee plants are in flower. During this time tropical bee colonies might migrate or abscond from the hive in search of sites with better conditions for survival. That means a big loss of colonies might occur. One way to stop this is to feed the bees with sugar syrup. Sugar is used as the best substitute material for nectar although some other feeds with high sugar contents can also be used. These include date fruits, sweet bananas and sugar cane juice. In temperate regions there are various techniques for feeding sugar to bees. The purpose of our project has been to develop a feeding technique appropriate for the kind of top-bar hives and bees used in Tanzania. The choice of feeder depends upon the type of hive used. Use of a frame feeder, or placing a cup of sugar in an empty super on top of a hive, are not always appropriate ways to feed bees in the tropics. · A good feeder · Allows bees to feed easily without drowning in the syrup · Is durable and can be reused many times · Does not allow robber bees to enter · Is easy to work with and can be filled quickly with syrup without disturbing the bees or getting stung.
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