"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
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On Fri, 4 Jan 2013 14:40:32 -0000, "Ophelia"
wrote:



"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
. ..

Whether bumbles are susceptible to such diseases, I don't know, but
personally I wouldn't want to take the risk. If you must feed them,
stick to sugar syrup or even better, diluted Golden Syrup, as much of
the sucrose has already been converted to glucose and fructose.

Is it a good idea to put out feed like that, or leave them to their own
resources?
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TBH, even if you did put out sugar syrup or similar, at this time of
year I don't think you'd get many takers. When a beekeeper feeds his
bees, he uses a specially adapted tray that fits inside the hive so
that the bees have direct access to it. A solution of table sugar, or
variants of it such as fondant or invert sugar, are used. If he wants
to feed them their own honey, it's either put into such a tray or
whole combs that the beekeeper has kept in reserve are used, which are
hung in the hive in place of empty ones. Bees get very excited when
fed honey!

Most nectar-feeding insects are programmed to seek out flowers, and
unless they come upon a different source of sugar by chance, they're
unlikely to be attracted to it specifically, especially as plain sugar
solution has no 'smell'. Flowers have stripes on the petals that
reflect UV light that bees can see but we can't, that guide the bees
to the centre of the flower where the nectar is.

Yes, that makes sense. Why would they be interested in a dull old pot of
sugar water

Having said that, in warmer climes, the southern states of America for
example, people attract humming birds to their gardens by hanging up
special feeders that have a large brightly-coloured plastic flower
backed by a reservoir that holds the 'nectar' (simply sugar syrup). I
saw on the telly only a day or two ago, similar arrangements for
feeding tropical butterflies in a butterfly house; several obviously
plastic flowers distributed up some sort of vine, with exotic
butterflies feeding. You could try such an arrangement with the hope
that you might attract a few bumbles. There are some instructions on
making a butterfly feeder on the RSPCA site, at
http://tinyurl.com/bcpz6hq I think I'd use a piece of brightly
coloured plastic, yellow or blue, in place of the card, and devise
some other reservoir rather than a golf tee. Note the use of a UV pen
in Part 1 to guide the bees to the 'nectar' (sugar syrup). Or google
for 'butterfly feeder'.

Thank you so much for taking the time and trouble to share that!!!!!! That
is great information and I have very much enjoyed reading it))
I will certainly have a look at that site Thanks again!

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http://www.shop.helpforheroes.org.uk/