The bees have now got through 6 kg of sugar. The photo shows the feeder containing sugar syrup. This is made by dissolving 2lbs of sugar in a pint of warm water. The feeder is then placed over a hole in the crown board so that bees can get into the feeder from the brood chamber. The feeder is checked, and topped up if needed, in the evening when the bees are all in for the day. This minimises the risk of robbers (other bees or wasps) being attracted to the hive whilst you are filling the feeder. The good thing about this feeder is that when you take off the roof of the hive to have a look, the bees can’t get out, so no need to get all the protective gear on.
The weather has been a mixed bag for the past few weeks with showers most days. I do see the bees bringing back a lot of pollen and when we opened the hive yesterday we could see the stores of pollen. The bees seem to have been busy drawing out the wax foundation but no sign of the queen laying in any of the new frames – only in the 5 original ones. Is this normal? No idea. Comments from the more experienced are welcome.
Learning to keep bees 
Great resource! I’m brand-new at all of this and just installed my first bee package on Saturday, just a couple of days ago.
One thing I’m not clear on regarding the syrup feeding. How long is the sugar syrup good for in the feeder that sits in the hive? Does it need to be changed out every few days or once a week or what?
Also, where did you get the circular feeder from with the cone in the middle – liked the design, a lot! 🙂
Thanks for your comments. It’s exciting keeping bees and I’ve still a lot to learn. Must try to start updating the blog again.The sugar syrup lasts 5 days or so before it starts to get mold in it – depends on temperature. However, I would say that if it’s not used within 4 or 5 days then the bees probably don’t need it. The feeder is known as a rapid feeder and holds about 2 litres of syrup. I got mine from a local supplier but I’m sure you could buy online in the US. The UK National Bee unit has a good leaflet about feeding bees on this page: http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/index.cfm?pageid=167
Hope all goes well and you enjoy your new hobby.