Robert, thanks, that is intersting. I have white, silver and black paint. I may try make something like that. I could even try it both ways.

I am a little afraid of the bees because our yorkie is allergic to bee stings, but I also want to be 'critter frindly'.

Thanks again for the info.

Larry

Finally a topic where my saltwater aquarium (and its lighting) knowledge come in handy!

Yeah, white reflects light, black absorbs it. Painting it black (haha) would warm the feeder, but I don't think that's where the heat really needs to be. Either way, I don't think silver is the way to go. Both of the options will either reflect/absorb better than silver. Now, if you want to take it to a chrome shop, you would have the best bee warmer ever.

Leslie

Leslie, I wont be able to go chrome, the closest I could get would be to glue on alum. foil. The reason I thought black might work is that I built a metal building last winter, the back of the building has old rusty tin on it(east side), and for a ways up the south side I also used rusty tin, but etched it with acid and painted with alum. paint. It seems hotter when I am working inside near the rusty wall.

I had not thought about bending the tin to focus the light on the feeder. I think it may work better than the black inverted "U". I will have to think about what kind of feeder I need and if I should shield it from the rain.

If I do this it will have to be a low budget project.

Thanks for the input.

Larry

While aluminum is more reflective than white--that is, it has a higher albedo than white, which is about 0.9 vs. 0.04 for black--it is color and scent that attracts the bee. Like other nectar feeding insects, bees have vision that is skewed towards the ultraviolet (invisible to humans) range, plus white, yellows and blues. If you look closely at the coloration of crocus flower petals, you will notice the colors tend to be strongest at the tips, and then streak inwards toward the center of the flower. Viewed in ultraviolet light, these colors will fluoresce--and each flower petal will look exactly like an airport landing strip at evening, with landing strip lights along the edge and center....

Compare that to what aluminum foil looks like under ultraviolet light and you will see an immediate difference. The flowers are signaling the bees in a visual language the bees can clearly understand, while the aluminum foil will not.

The best thing to do is to go out and buy as many crocus and cold-weather flowers you can afford and plant them in your yard. The bees will thank you!

Oh, P.S. While you can google "ultraviolet" and "flowers" and click on images to get a few good pictures of this, the fellow in the link below is actually cataloging plants and their images as a sideline to his nature photography job.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bjorn Rorslett's UV Photos

Robert, thanks, I will try to get some crocus bulbs in Ft. Smith. I may have to wait a few months for some to be in stock. I think Susan was telling me about some flowers I could plant also. I want to keep most of the flowers away from the house because of my dog. We always keep him on a leash but it is hard to keep him away from the bees.

Larry

Hellebores bloom in winter and on warm days attract bees. Although this month I have only seen one lone bee on mine, a couple years ago saw several at once on more than one day. The blossoms are pure white when they open and later fade first to dusky pink and then greenish. The petals are not as cupped as the crocus, but somewhat. Wonder how warm it is inside one. They will continue opening blooms until March. That's a long time. By then the crocus, hyacinths, and daffodils will be blooming.