feed not taken

[fergie]

hi, i am new to forum and have had bees for 3 years now, i have treated both my colonies with apiguard, first tray on 2nd sept and the second tray 2 weeks later, i have had feeders on during this period and are still on now, but the bees have not touched the syrup, during this period the weather has been warm and sunny and adjacent to the hives the farmer has planted a cover crop of mustard, which is in flower, for use as green fertilizer. my question is this, would the bees go to the mustard in preference to the syrup sat above the crown board? I am concerned that the bees will not have enough stores going into winter. previous years they have taken the syup very quickly. any advice/ comments would be greatly appriciated
thank you

[AdamD]

Has the syrup been on for a long time? If so it may be fermenting (smell or taste it) which the bees don't like in which case you will need to clean the feeder thoroughly before re-use.

[fergie]

it has been on since the second tray of apiguard was placed in the hives, approx 3 weeks

[thewoodgatherer]

I have had a similar problem this years with my three hives, I posted on here about two weeks ago and the advise was to keep persevering which I did and I have manged to just about get them stocked up. I found that putting a larger feeder on and covering with foam insulation to keep it warm at night encouraged them to get in and take it down quicker. I have plenty of ivy locally but they seem only interested in the pollen. I guess times running out for syrup as the days and nights will be getting colder soon.

[Steve (The Drone)]

Bees can be contrary little beggars. I have 5 hives taking the syrup down from large feeders, but one hive that simply will not touch it despite being very strong. On this one I removed the large green (Paynes type) feeder and transferred the syrup to a mesh type contact feeder. It is now being lapped down fast. Strange!
Just a thought. Is the hive that is not touching the syrup still bringing in pollen? If not then there may trouble with the Queen.
Steve.

[nealh]

If they are not taking the syrup there is usually a reason, take a sample of 30 bees preferably house/brood bees and check/have them checked for Nosema.
If syrup isn't tempting them remove it place a 4" eke empty super on top of the brood box and feed with a slab of fondant.

[AdamD]

Bees can be reluctant to take syrup with Apiguard in the hives. Is the spot where the Apiguard was, directly under the feeder? Is there any Apiguard still there that could be scraped away? (Or use a different feeder hole if, as is often the case, there is a second porter bee escape slot to one side).

[fergie]

hi, thanks for all your replies, yes the apiguard trays are still on ive just not had a chance to take them off as my bees are kept away from home, i will make sure they are removed over the weekend. both hives are still bring in pollen( the farmer keeps an eye on them for me, he is always interested what they are doing). if all else fails i will try a contact feeder or block of fondant as suggested,
thanks again
gary

[NigelP]

Sometimes you need to splash some over the top of the feeder down into the bees so they follow the syrup trail to the reservoir.
I find adding thymol to prevent mould forming gives the sugar a smell that bees cotton on to. Plain sugar syrup has very little aromatics tio attract bees to it.

[nealh]

Yep adding thymol to syrup soon has them coming to the source.