The feeders I use. The gate has the angled plastic cover inserted when feeding to protect the bees from entering the whole area of the sugar solution
A few days ago I removed the last feeder after giving the colonies complementary sugar solution for winter feed before too low temperature arrives. Colonies surprised me being so calm I could speed up the work by bashing the feeder onto the hive in such a way that the bees sitting in the gate (by which they used to reach the sugar solution) fell into the open hive.
The feeder was bashed on the hive in such a way the bees fell into the hive. This is not a normal way to rid the bees from the feeder. But these bees didn’t react, which made me happy.
A normal hive you shouldn’t treat like that for the risk arousing their temperament in a very bad way. They could start chasing yourself and all that are around you as well as neighbors.
I soon realized the bees didn’t care and I was both surprised and glad of course. This colony on the pictures is a split from one of my breeders this year. It reared their own queen, grew quickly in strength, gave some honey and ended up on three 12 frame square shallow boxes for winter packed with bees. The breeder colony is on its third season without any treatment of any kind and had a varroa level of 0% in May. The temper was good, but the temper of the split is even better, not a bee flying up at this bashing treatment. And no sign of any virus problems. In spring I will monitor the varroa level in this one and several others.
A selfie with me and the colony after bashing it with the feeder. It was not easy and I managed to cover some of the picture with my finger, but you can se my mouth anyway.:)
I tried to take a selfie together with the colony just after the bashing, but it wasn’t that easy to get a good shot with one hand. But you see a little anyway.