Bees robbing my hive

That is a luxury I don’t have Jeff. I do have a ‘better’ location where my original hive was but I found it poisoned last year because it was visible from street level. That’s why I have these two new ones. I’m starting again from scratch.

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That’s pretty crook that your hive got poisoned. Let’s hope that the robbing stops at your present location.
cheers

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Very devastating to see a mat of thousands of dead bees under the hive Jeff. I’m still quite sore about the event to be honest.

If I see that the hive is not thriving because they got overwhelmed by robbing, would it be a good idea to combine the two hives I have to give them the best chance for winter? If that’s the case when is the best time to do it please?

Sorry I didn’t back track to realize the colony is small and building, my advise was for a ‘normal’ colony so ignore what I have said.
Cheers

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That is really sad that some humans think that the world would be a better place without bees. There are still some that think the world is flat and that the climate isn’t changing.
Probably too late now but a letter to the editor in your local paper explaining the benefit of bees in the environment might have been a positive.
Cheers

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Feeding syrup certainly triggers the colony to get the queen doing her thing and boost the colony.
In a dearth some will be eaten straight away and the surplus will go into cells but I don’t know or even read if the bees will cap it or not. A good thought provoking question.
Cheers

We’re still only half way through summer. A local mentor or information from a local bee club would be a good guide as to how severe your winters get. Me, I would try to save that colony. With the use of a reduced entrance as well as a robbing screen in conjunction with feeding (if needed), you can save that colony.

Don’t be remotely concerned about the bees storing & capping the sugar syrup. If they need it, they’ll use it their every day activities while building.

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Cheers. I had a look at 5am and the melee was on again - bees at each others’ throats. I saw robbing before, but not as severe as I’m seeing on this hive.

I don’t think I can afford to wait any longer to make a robbing screen. I have to organise a day off and do it before the weekend. I was hoping the reduced entrance will be enough. I obviously underestimated the severity of robbing.

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I absolutely agree with you there Peter. I do however see bees here as an agricultural aide. We have a lot of native pollinators, insects, birds and mammals, that unfortunately get overlooked and many think that it’s only the imported honey bee that does all the work.

“some that think the world is flat”
A few weeks ago I had a guy, in his 50s, to fix my retic. I couldn’t believe my ears when he tried to argue with me that he’s convinced the earth is flat. He said he saw some videos on YouTube. I fired him right away, of course I couldn’t trust his judgment to fix anything on my property. I never knew that flat earthers are present in Australia too, and that I will ever meet one in the flesh.

Writing a letter about bees to the editor is pretty useless these days Peter. It will not change anyone’s opinion either way. Whoever killed my bees saw my hive as a problem, and that they will come and sting them mercilessly. Every itch they’ll have they will blame it on my bees, no matter what.

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Just a thought, if you can find the hive that is doing the robbing feeding it might reduce their idea of robbing. I have about 30 hives in my apiary and so far robbing hasn’t been an issue. Maybe because all the hives are about equal in numbers and if a hive is low on nectar I’m happy to internally feed it.
My thinking is that robbing is happening their may be a dearth in nectar happening. I have heard that a hive that gets a mind-set of robbing can be really hard to stop them.
Good luck with the robbing screen, it would be well worth trying it.
Cheers

Apparently that flat earther is not alone. From what I read, 2% of Americans believe the earth is flat. That’s about 6.5 million & the number is growing. I wonder what they think is happening when they use a GPS in their cars.

I wonder what’s worse: people thinking the earth is flat or people who waste good time & money trying to convince them that it’s not.

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Well, he might end up the Minister of Science one day.

Anyhooo, I would like to advice that I have all the materials to make the robbing screen. Is there an ideal height for it to work?

My understanding is that they allow the smell of the honey to go through the mesh and confuse the robbers, while the hive inhabitants find their way in and out.

Rusty has referenced the following product, so it may give you a starting point:

Here’s the article from Rusty:

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Cheers. That one is 10.8cm high, so wasn’t going to too far making it 12cm high.
I’m off to the shed right now.

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You’re closer than you think… 4.5inch is approx 11.4cm… or have I missed something… :crazy_face:

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Haha!! No you did not. I did, I was sloppy with my maths. Must be my dyslexia…:nerd_face:

Ok, now that a robbing screen of sorts is on, the next question is:

When will I take it off? When I see there is no more fighting? Until the colony gets stronger? After a couple of weeks?

I would leave it on unless you see bearding or excessive congestion of bee numbers around the entrance. Even leave it on through the winter if you like, I do. :wink:

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Reduce the entrance and stop feeding them until the robbing ceases. Obtain and place your robbing screens and then resume feeding if you think it’s necessary.

I’ve found feeding encourages robbing.

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Thanks Dawn, I’ll keep an eye on it. It will make a great mouse guard too.

That was going to be my next enquiry.

I was suspecting that robbing increased when I switched from inverted jars, to open trays of syrup. I jumped from 700ml a week, to 1.5L - per day!!

I went trough a couple of months of dearth here, but I now have plenty of native bush in flower around me. I just licked a flower and tasted sweet, I assume that is the taste of nectar, not pollen. The bees are bringing in bucket loads of pollen. Till last weekend when I had my recent inspection, the bees had no honey reserves in the comb at all.

Should I just stop feeding altogether and let them work for their rent?

Let’s face it, if someone was providing me with an endless supply of chocolate everyday in the attic, I won’t go shopping for food.

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It’s a tough call because I don’t know your hive.