robbing or something else ?

[jgaito]

let me preface.   hive #1 is the sedate hippies that i can work without issue and can stand in front of or lift the cover without so much as a veil or smoke.   they are two deeps and a feeder.
  hive # 2, is the gangster knife packing rastafarian militants that swarm me at the notion i may be looking at them.  they are two deep and a medium super.  the more productive of the two.



last weekend i was near the hives which are about thirty feet apart.   hive one was unusually dense with airborne bees.  normal coming and going at the entrance.  i watched for a while and didn't feel good about the situation so i slapped on a robber screen.  things calmed down in about five minutes though i still could not identify any robbers or aggression.   at this point the feed jar was empty and dry with the normal amount of bees in the feeder box.  (top entrance is closed).  i pulled the robber screen and installed a reducer just to play it safe.



i walk over to the thugs and the carnage is evident.  two square feet of dead bees in front of the hive, normal bearding at the entrance.





i've noticed over the last two or three weeks alot of bees watering in unusual place in the yard and thought it strange as i have a water supply at each hive.   what do you think ?  a feral hive in the area causing tension ?

[danno]

dam!!!   Pic 3 is one hell of a beard.   It looks like you took it at dark or dusk at least and I dont see alot if any flight.  I vote that there just sitting on the front porch.   As for pic 2 all mine have some dead in front that were either dragged out or didn't quite make it home.   Pic #1 I just wondered what you use for wood and the dimensions.  It looks to be about double deep depth but only one box

[jgaito]

 Pic #1 I just wondered what you use for wood and the dimensions.  It looks to be about double deep depth but only one box

it's a standard eight frame deep.  the angle makes it look taller.   the rastafarians always congregate like that.  must be a cultural thing.
i'm ok with it until they put and old bench seat out of truck on the front porch.   as far as time of day, i think getting close to the hive forced the flash since it was only around four or five PM.

[AllenF]

Just remember that you are in a dearth and the bees are looking for food.   They will rob if that is all they can find.  Reducers are you friend year round for the "not the strongest" hives in the yard.

[donteatthebees]

Also in NC, and one of our two hives is currently under major assault from robber bees. And by major assault, I mean war-zone, call in NATO, crisis situation; the hive was COVERED with robber bees and there were a lot of dead bees, fighting and the hive was nearly unapproachable because the bees were so angry/worked up.

We've had the packages since April, and the hive that's being robbed has always been the weaker of the two.  Now that we've figured out it's being invaded by robber bees, I've put robber screens on both hives (after having to use grass to plug up the entrances until then), but the robbers are still trying their best to get in. Also, it looks like there is some robbing at the stronger hive, which is making me doubt our previous conclusion that the strong hive was robbing the weak one. The stronger hive seems like they're fending off the robbers pretty well, though, as there is much less activity outside of that hive.

Any thoughts on this situation? Also, when will robber bees give up the fight? I thought the robber screens would be more of a deterrent, but the robber bees are still very committed to carrying out their mission, especially their assault on the weaker hive of the two.

Thanks for any insight or advice!
Katie

[L Daxon]

Katie,
Sorry. I am newer at this.  What is a "robber screen"?

[AllenF]

Robbing screen
http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/10-Frame-Moving-and-Robbing-Screen/productinfo/517/

[danno]

The robber screens I make and use look like these but the whole top is open and it isn't a tight fit to the bottom board.  They are about 3/4" short of a tight fit.  This 3/4 becomes the main enterance and the place robbers attach.  The coloy bees learn to enter and exit out of the whole top