So I was in the backyard today and glanced over the hive, and something seemed off. I took a video and it seems bees might be fending off robber bees? Noticed maybe 5-6 dead bees on the ground, by the front of the hive. There is no entrance feeder.
I was thinking of adding a robber screen just in case, put some mulch in the entrance just for today, but might close the entrance off for a few days. Also added some Vicks to the entrance.
Thoughts?
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That is definately robbing happening. A robbing screen and reducing the entrance to 3 or 4 inches will be a big help. I’m sure others will add tips.
Cheers
Thanks, @Peter48 - Adding a screen ASAP, glad I caught it early. DANG!
Also if you have a few pot plants with shrubs you can put in front of the entrance that will slow down robbing bees getting a full speed attack at the entrance. A 3 to 4 inch entrance will make it easier for the guard bee to defend the entrance and hopefully the robbers will give up the idea.
I was really concerned when I moves to my present sub-tropical climate about getting enough cooling air into the hives but after a few robbing episodes and reducing the entrances I found the smaller entrances didn’t bother the bees at all. I added roof vents to the roof of my Flow Hives and Langstroth’s to compensate for a smaller entrance and it works great where in Summer I have a few months of 95/105F during the days. With the smaller entrances I have not had robbing, even in weaker hives during a drought and dearth…
Cheers
Added the screen and reduced the entrance - some fighting still going on, but I think it’s less than the first day, whew! I also notice bees in a cluster underneath the hive at night, wonder it they are robbers or my own bees? Is the queen out?!
Don’t expect the bees trying to rob your hive to give up in a day, it might take a week or two till they get the message to give up on that idea, as well as possibly a good nectar flow happening. Bees would much rather prefer to forage than fight to the death to rob another hive. It is important in my experience to not allow a hive to become a lot stronger than other hives in an apiary.
Most likely the bees clustering under the hive are your bees and most likely the queen is still in the brood cluster, my thinking is that the hives bee in a robbing situation would be even more protective of the queen and there is no way the colony would let her go out of the hive in that circumstance. Do an inspection when it has calmed down and add a super if the bee numbers are really high needing extra space for bees. Bearding can be caused by a number of issues, internal hive temperature too hot, an overly strong colony for the available space, a honey bound hive are the most likely in my opinion…
Cheers
Cheers
Thanks for your input, @Peter48! I will keep an eye on the girls today and see how things evolve!
Thanks peter for the pot plant trick, we’ve only put the nuc in a few days ago and seem to have had robbing the past couple of afternoons. Seems to have helped, all nicely quiet at present. Fingers crossed
