In human terms look for a brawl at the front door of a pub with everyone involved in getting the last beer before the pub closes. Lots of bees, flying to get past the guard bees security and bees wrestling to sting each other. It gets so full-on I wonder if they even know who is who!!! But at least when it starts the guard bees are protecting the hive against the out-siders. You will know what it is when you see it happening, that is for sure.
It is a sure sign of a dearth, hives low on stores and bees on the verge of starvation. Robbing doesnāt happen normally. Under normal conditions colonies ignore another a metre away and live in harmony.
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Ok. Sounds logical.
I donāt get to see the front of my hive very often as I have the back facing the garden in theory, to cut down the traffic crossing the garden. Iāll keep an eye out for that behaviour. Thanks
I took your comment onboard about the position of the second honey super and changed them around when did an inspection today.
It wasnāt hugely populated like the other two but it did have quite a lot of capped honey.
Did I do the right thing by swapping them over?
Cheers
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Hi mate, the idea of the Flow frame (Ff) is that when it is full and capped itās ready to extract, which sort of negates the use of another super. Bees would rather use wax foundation than the Ff so they will likely ignore the Ffās above or below a traditional frame until there is no more room in the traditional super.
Does the Flow super have any stores in it?
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Yes. Iād say 60 to 70 % full. I took about 2kg four weeks ago.
I actually followed advice from another beekeeper and added the extra super after I had 2 swarms durning last summer. Now I subscribe to the idea that with the extra super, all the honey in the flow super is mine. As there is a substantial amount in the extra super, I could probably empty the flow super but winter still has a long way to go and Iām very hesitant about taking it!
OK, nice one, sounds like your bees are doing great, especially after 2 swarms. So good in fact Iād say you have a very productive queen. Shame it has mean genetics, the good and bad.
For the record I too am a new beek and am gleaning new info all the time, one of the things I do is to use 2 brood boxes (bb), a full depth (FD) and a 3/4 box (WSP). I use 2 because of our summer dearth and like your planning, the WSP is above the brood box beneath the queen excluder (qx) making it essentially a brood box and is predominantly honey frames with an arc of brood in the middle frames. I was advised to move the qx above the WSP winter and below summer for cluster and brood inspection ease respectively. This has worked well for me in my area with the 2 bb colonies being more productive, calm and healthy. The downside is different frame sizes but a WSP is easier to lift when inspecting and ensuring the queen is in the bottom bb when moving the qx.
Iām beginning to think, with your healthy honey production, that I may have too many colonies in my area, too much competition.
I also think swarm prevention is essential and adding extra supers is not a good method.
Having said all this there are many ways to keep bees and as I said earlier I donāt have the experience to say what is right or wrong in our area at this time, I can only base my opinions on my experience. 
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Resource managementā¦ surely Gregā¦ beginning to think? 
The girls down here are making honey now the winter flowering plants have started producing nectar. I love living above an old township
Hi Greg, Peter and everyone else, welcome Rodger (@Daddypee) Iāve come out of hibernationā¦
With the described hive resources the aggression issue is more than likely robbing.
If you havenāt already reduced the size of your hive entry, do it. The smaller the entry to defend the lower the aggression levels.
If your hive is identified by a rogue scout as a potential robbing source the bees from the attacking hive will not stop until no more bees successfully return from your hive with loot. If no robbers can sneak past the guards, eventually the robbing will stop and everyone can settle down.
To reduce lifting, consider a horizontal hive and never lift a box againā¦ There are a couple of flow-frame capable horizontal hive designs around. Commercial beehives were designed for commercial beekeepers and are not the only way to successfully keep bees. Some horizontal hive proponents will even say that horizontal hives are more bee-friendly and cause less stress for the bees when doing routine tasks such as inspections. A potential risk with horizontal hives is that they must be actively managed to prevent swarming.
My experimental horizontal hive, version 1.
What were the girls doing on a cold and blowy Sunday afternoon in July?
Terry
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As soon as I read the suggestion about making a smaller entrance, I put on my bee suit to do the job.
From the moment I got there, I could sense a change. I didnāt get buzzed once so letās hope whatever happened is permanent!
I have seen the horizontal hive on display at Guilfoyles in Midland.
I should be able to get one made by my son in law. Very clever with wood.
If I can get the girls permanently friendly, Iāll have one made before the end of the year!
Thanks for all your help.
Roger (daddypee)
You are exactly right Skeggs, consider in nature that bee colonies in the wild are a few klms apart, so us humans like most of our hives in the one location, I have 30 hives in a 200 sq meter area and fortunately are surrounded by natural bush land but with the recent lack of rain over Summer, long and record heatwaves and temperatures I now realize that I have reached my limit under good conditions and gone a bit too far for the bad times. This past 8 months is the first time my hives have actually needed the stored honey. Guess we are in the same boat 
Adding a super is just one option and I agree it is often not the best one. I do July splits which works for me in my climate along with weakening out the stronger hives donating frames to a weaker hive. Regular extracting of honey gives the bees room to live and work and overall makes for a calmer colony.
Regular full inspections is a good indicator on how to reduce the risk of swarming by getting a āheads-upā on how the colony is managing and what is neededā¦
I like to forward plan rather than react after the event, but thatās me.
Cheers
Hi Roger,
I had a look at the Midland horizontal hive last year and decided that for the price it was interesting, but failed to be compelling.
I designed and built my own HH as I was after some specific features such as movable flow-frames which required some tricky engineering to achieve. I will see a full year out with my prototype before building a more commercial version which will be built at a lot lower price point than the prototype.
If you and/or your son-in-law want to come down, have a look and take some measurements to get you started, I am happy for you to do so. I am in the hills between Armadale and Bedfordale, about 40 minutes drive south of you.
Terry
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Yes, Iāll keep that in mind. I will definitely include the Flowhive into the design. Iām actually very keen on the idea.
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Hiya mate, hope alls well. Yep cool, cloudy, windy and rain yet the bees were out and about. I saw many today on the ground and chillinā on bushes but the hive entrances were abuzz. Once you have a price on your āmore commercialā long hive let me know. 
I noticed a little while ago a few pallets of hives down the hill on a property not far from here, looked like a migratory set up. Iām thinking thatās the competition my colonyās are up against at the moment.
@Daddypee, glad the bees seem calmer, there is more in flower now than the last few months around here down the Scarp which is good, maybe yours are busier now and are too occupied to bully the local fauna. 
There is a few versions of a HH on YouTube. In sure that you donāt have to be a qualified cabinet maker to knock one up. The one in Guilfoyles is a bit rough but looks like it will do a good job for many years. Iām in Helena Valley. Where are you?
I am in the hills between Armadale and Bedfordale, about 40 minutes drive south of you.
Hi Terence
The problem with the super aggressive bees appears to have solved with the addition of a piece of wood to make the entry smaller.
I canāt remember who it was that suggested it, but it worked really good. We havenāt been buzzed for a couple of weeks now.
Iām not quite ready to venture near the hive without protection just yet but I feel confident that it will happen soon.
Many thanks
Roger
Iām happier the girls have settled. It is amazing how much of a difference a smaller entry can make.
Standard Langstroth hives are designed to maximize production. My personal view is that I would rather have happy and productive bees.
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