Feeders are used to provide or supplement nutrient

Nutrient

A nutrient is a chemical that an organism needs to live and grow or a substance used in an organism's metabolism which must be taken in from its environment. They are used to build and repair tissues, regulate body processes and are converted to and used as energy...

s for a beehive

Beehive (beekeeping)

A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus Apis live and raise their young. Natural beehives are naturally occurring structures occupied by honeybee colonies, while domesticated honeybees live in man-made beehives, often in an apiary. These man-made...

. A feeder in beekeeping can be several different things.

Pollen feeder

Pollen can be fed from outside or inside the hive. When pollen or a pollen supplement is fed it can be fed as a powder, granules or in pattie form. Pollen feeders are usually used at the beginning of the brood rearing season.

Syrup feeder

Sugary syrup, which can be HFCS or dissolved table sugar

Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...

, can be fed from outside the hive or inside the hive. When syrup is fed outside the hive the usual arrangement is a 5gal bucket filled with syrup and a floating perch. In the absence of a float, many bees will drown in the sugary solution.
Inside the hive, syrup feeders are either hanging like frames or put on top of the hive, so called hive-top feeders. Hive-top feeders can be a specially designed hive boxes or an inverted bucket with a screened hole. Syrup feeders with a 2:1 concentration of water and sugar by weight are typically used in the fall after the last honey

Honey

Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...

 is removed. At the beginning of the brood rearing season in the late winter or spring a 1:1 concentration of water and sugar is typically used.

Use and disuse

The use of feeders by the bees stops when it either gets too cold or the bees collect other food sources. To avoid contaminating honey with sugar syrup, bees should not be fed syrup when the honey super

Honey super

A honey super is a part of a commercial beehive that is used to collect honey. The most common variety is the super with a depth of 6⅝ inches in the length and width dimensions of a Langstroth hive....

s are on.

See also

• Northern Nectar Sources for Honey Bees
• Nectar source
  Nectar source
  A nectar source is a flowering plant that produces nectar as part of its reproductive strategy. These plants create nectar, which attract pollinating insects and sometimes other animals such as birds....
  
  
• Honeydew source
  Honeydew source
  This is a list of honeydew sources. Honeydew is a sugary excretion from plant sap sucking insects such as aphids or scales. There are many trees that are hosts to aphids and scale insects that produce honeydew-Honeydew sources:-References:...
  
  
• Pollen source
  Pollen source
  The term pollen source is often used in the context of beekeeping and refers to flowering plants as a source of pollen for bees or other insects. Bees collect pollen as a protein source to raise their brood. For the plant, the pollinizer, this can be an important mechanism for sexual reproduction,...
  
  
• List of honey plants