Would some kind person remind me, please, what is the trick about the black and brown bears, and the honey? I seem to recall that placing the honeypots in a certain postion would stop the black bear pinching all the violet and indigo honey but I can't quite remember what it was!

The only way to stop the bears clearing the pot is to try and stop people from watering for about the first 40 minutes after you put fresh food out, after that 40 minutes put the pots back into storage and then allow people to water.   The wildlife should by then be programmed to visit and so storing the pots wont change that.

The hardest part is getting people to understand what you are doing and getting them to not water and risk harvesting the honey

Thanks Amanada for that - but I also seem to remember that putting the honeypots in a certain order from the left will stop the black bears from coming first.  This is really what I wanted to ask.

Oh don't know that one, pot order only plays a part if Fairytales as far as I can remember.  Not done the Bears since they were first released though, so I may have forgotten! lol

I have forgotten too!l But I do remember there was a clever way to arrange the honeypots so that the brown bear got them first and the black bear was kept from pinching the violet and indigo honeys. Please can anybody else recall this?

it has to do with the all indigo or all violet pots.......If you want to save these pots- put a different color pot to the left of these pots. Keep replacing the pots to the left of the indigo or violet pots until the brown bear shows........ lol

the brown bear will only eat from an all indigo or all violet pot. black bears eat from all!

^but will eat from the most left pot

its explained better here "PROTECTING AN INDIGO OR VIOLET POT FROM BLACK BEARS
When the bear is spotted, it will take the honey from the furthest pot to the left which it is able to take it from.  To protect an indigo or violet pot from being taken by a Black Bear, keep the indigo/violet pot to the RIGHT of a pot which is made by all-red, all-orange, all-yellow, all-green or all-blue bees.  That way, if a Black Bear comes it cannot take the indigo/violet pot and so will take the lower colour of pot, leaving the indigo or violet pot in your garden to use again.
"

Yes, that's it!! Great! Thanks very much Tess!