Robbing...Will I know it when I see it?

[sunnyside]

Been reading a lot of questions regarding robbing.  Will I know it when I see it?  I have two new hives from late May/early June from 5 frame nucs (first year for me!).  Lots of activity late this morning in front of the hives.  Lots of bees in front of both hives, but no fighting on the landing boards.  How will I really KNOW it is robbing?  Here is a pic to show you...



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[danno]

you will know.  The robbers will be trying to get in every crack.  There will be fighting on the front porch and a cloud of activity going on around the hives

[AliciaH]

If it's bad, you'll hear it, too.  I've come home a few times over the past couple years, gotten out of the car and had my first clue to a problem be the elevated buzzing.

[BlueBee]

Robbing bees look kind act like a people when money falls from the sky or a game show.  Everybody makes a madd rush to get what they can before it's all gone.  The motion is chaotic and frantic.  Quite often I do not see any signs of fighting at the hive being robbed because the house bees are simply overwhelmed.

It is important to learn to distinguish orientation flights from robbing.  Orientation flights also involve bees in the air around the entrance, but these bees are more calmly flying too and fro the hive as they orientate to the hives location.

Robbing normally involves more bees than orientation flights too.  When I see a sudden increase in bee activity in front of one of my hives, I take note and decide if the hive is getting robbed or not.   Robbing is more likely this time of year (at least in my climate). 

[tefer2]

For me, the loud buzzing sound puts me on alert, on exit they fly a lower flight pattern. Laden with the booty!
As Danno said, trying to squeeze through every crack on the stack!

[Michael Bush]

About the only thing you would mistake for robbing is orientation and that will not go on all day, only for a few hours on a warm afternoon and the orienting bees are not frantic.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesrobbing.htm

[Rock331]

When my bees were being robbed I knew right away something was wrong. I had bees everywhere. They were all over the hive searching for entry. I had lots of bees circling around each other and the biggest clue was the bees hitting the ground and the dead one in front of the hive. I guess I would say I felt it also. I could feel it was a fight.

Early in the morning I will go out and watch the hive and drink coffee. If I get out before the sun comes up but it is light outside. The hive will have a lot of bees flying  around in a two to three foot circle. At first it looks like a fight but watching them they are not messing with each other. they will just dart into the hive. Almost like they are waiting for the Air control tower to tell them it is their time to land.

If you spend time just watching the hive then when it is being robbed you will just know it aint right.

[T Beek]

And if you miss the actual fighting another telltale sign is the itty bitty footprints (of honey) left around any entrance.  It looks very spotty and different from a healthy entry that hasn't been robbed.

thomas

[BjornBee]

Robbing is a wonderful thing!

It's nature's way of strengthening the strong, while culling out the weak.

If you have hives not strong enough to protect themselves at this point of the season, they are not going to make it through winter anyways. Beekeepers should of already been combining weak hives and culling out the bad. In four weeks, it will be October in the north. No magical event is going to make weak hives strong in the next 4 weeks. Unless the beekeeper does some manipulations, which should of started weeks ago here in the north.

Weak hives at this point of the year many times is due to the beekeeper not doing his job. But nature will finish the task for you. Nature will cull the weak. And YOU will be better for it. You will not be feeding a hive all fall that will die anyways, and you save money and labor.

[Tommyt]

Robbing is a wonderful thing!

:lau:

Sometimes you have to look and hard at the messanger not the message :roll:

I think I will go pull the lids off my Hives so the strong can surive

Love to all  :rainbowflower:
Rocky



Sylvester Stallone

[vmmartin]

If you have ever seen a shark feeding frenzy, it is like that only with wings.

[sunnyside]

Really appreciate all the answers guys!  You all have no idea how much it means to me!!  I have just been really paranoid thinking that I will not know they are robbing and just let it go on.  But it sounds like I really will know when it is happening!  Some pretty tell tale signs.

[JP]

Sunny, robbing may be wonderful for the bees doing the robbing but its pure chaos. Bees everywhere, extremely active and loud. You will literally see some bees rolling around tussling as if in a wrestling match trying to sting each other. Their moods are often quite contrary as well and stings to humans and other animals are common during the event.

Once you witness and experience the event you'll have no doubt as to what is occurring.


...JP

[T Beek]

I've only had to do it once, but if you ever do see it happening, throwing a wet blanket over the victim colony will slow it down considerably (at least until you get a chance to close down entrances).  I've heard that placing a sprinkler in the direction of victim hive works as well.

thomas

[sunnyside]

TBeek,

You must have been reading my mind.  That was going to be my next question...What to do when I see it!!  Good info!  Hope I never actually have to do it though....

[danno]

If the colony being attacked is in garden hose range,  turning on a sprinkler will stop it in its tracks

[BjornBee]

Robbing is a wonderful thing!

:lau:

Sometimes you have to look and hard at the messanger not the message :roll:

I think I will go pull the lids off my Hives so the strong can surive

Love to all  :rainbowflower:
Rocky



Sylvester Stallone

No....you should really be looking at the message.

The message is that as the BEEKEEPER you should be managing your bees to have robbing NOT happen. And when it does, you probably are at fault. And that nature is only doing what nature does...cull the weak and perpetuate the strong. Bees is not some leftist socialist commie group of some claiming "We should all be equal!". They do not rob the rich and give to the poor!  :-D

My point was that if you got robbing at this time of the year, especially in the north, it is probably a hive that was not strong enough to survive winter anyways, and nature was doing you a favor.

But go over the edge, and pull your tops. Or at least suggest so in some incredible stupid comment, to get a dig in otherwise. Way to go!  :roll:

[sunnyside]

Bjorn,

So robbing would usually occur IN weaker hives, because the stronger hives would be able to defend their hive much easier?  And if robbing does occur, it would be more likely FROM a weaker hive.  (Hope I worded that right!!) Again, sorry for all of the questions.  Just trying to understand beekeeping!  This is a LOT harder than what I had thought!  LOL!  So much to learn.  I thought after reading every book I could get my hands on, that I would have a better understanding.  But I find myself more confused from the books sometimes. 

[annette]

When robbing happens up at my apiary, all the hives are involved including the very strong ones. The only difference is the stronger ones can defend themselves more easily.

I always throw a sopping wet sheet over the hives down to the ground to stop it, but then place robber screens on all the hives until it stops.

Sunny, don't be confused. You will understand soon enough and it will all be easier. The bees are always a challenge, so just take one thing at a time. The books are a good reference point, but the real experience is working with the bees and they don't read the books. Meaning sometimes things happen different than the books say

[T Beek]

Sorry Bjorn but you're the only one doing any 'digging' as far as I can see. 

Its been said before; "Not all experts make good teachers."  The name calling is sophomoric at best and minimizes the good work you do put out there.

thomas