Is moving hive best option?

rookie2531 · July 28, 2014, 03:13:03 PM

I know some were thinking my nuc was not being robbed, but last night after dark, I buttoned them up tight. I go to work way before dawn so after work around 2 p.m. I checked and saw about 100 hovering in front of both nucs and crawling around both boxes. Now one thing did catch my attention right off. Some were carrying pollen and I didn't think robbers would stop by a case a joint while heavy but the nuc were and still are buttoned up tight. Now that they have been locked up, is moving them just around the corner good enough to deter the robbers or will they find them right off?

Santa Caras · July 28, 2014, 04:45:03 PM

Those were most likely foragers of the nuc that got caught out after dark. As for moving it....if it's at least 3 miles...then yes.....maybe. You could just be moving it closer to the hive thats doing the robbing! Instead of leaving it closed up....have you tried robbing screens? Basically a lil screened front porch for your hive but a SMALL (one bee size...1/4"x1/4") exit/entrance is at the top corner opposite side from the current hive entrance. (lots of designs on this website for Robbing Screens)This confuses the robbers as they hover in front of the hive entrance hole and not the screened room entrance hole. Confuses the bees that belong to the hive too. It's said not to leave them on longer than a couple days. early one morning, I watched a bee carry a dead bee round and around that screen trying to get out. When I got home at 6PM that nite...she was still there dragging that carcass around. Felt so sorry for her I took it off and let her finally dump that dead bee. That nuc had been getting roobed and robbed and the screen helped. it's stopped for now but I just let it dangle off the front and if needed...all I gotta do is flip it up and its on. The hive is coming back slowly but surely from the robbing.

rookie2531 · July 28, 2014, 05:48:26 PM

Well, it just seems that everything I need to do, I shouldn't. If there is even a virgin queen in there, she needs to mate, maybe she already did, I don't know. I have been advised not to inspect because they might kill her, if I let robbing continue, the robbers might kill her. If I put a robber screen on then she geoes to mate and can't get back in. What a pickle. Seriously, not trying to be a pain, just worried about them.

Steel Tiger · July 28, 2014, 07:52:27 PM

When I went to hive my first package this year, I walked out to the hives (they were deadouts) with the package and saw bees all over the hives. At first I was hopeful that a swarm moved in. Nope, just robbing.
I hived the package and not only put the entrance reducer on, I put a rock in front of the entrance to make it even smaller and turned the hive around so that the entrance faced south instead of north.
I also taped closed the entrances to the other hive.
Turning the hive around and making the entrance small enough to barely allow two or three bees to pass through at the same time seemed to have worked.
Granted, I had a mated queen sitting in a cage inside the hive. But doing something similar may help you.

BeeMaster2 · July 29, 2014, 12:06:45 PM

Quote from: rookie2531 on July 28, 2014, 05:48:26 PM
Well, it just seems that everything I need to do, I shouldn't. If there is even a virgin queen in there, she needs to mate, maybe she already did, I don't know. I have been advised not to inspect because they might kill her, if I let robbing continue, the robbers might kill her. If I put a robber screen on then she geoes to mate and can't get back in. What a pickle. Seriously, not trying to be a pain, just worried about them.

Rookie,
I would bee willing to bet that by now your queen has mated. If you think the robbing is going on add the robbing screen.
Jim

rookie2531 · July 29, 2014, 09:06:12 PM

OK Jim, I finally posted video, sorry the tablet camera is not the best but I did zoom out a couple times and the res. got a little better. The hive in the middle has been my main concern. I was standing outside the fenced area. My first time posting url, hope it works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmFwCnmTAuQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmFwCnmTAuQ&feature=youtu.be

http://youtu.be/FmFwCnmTAuQ

BeeMaster2 · July 30, 2014, 12:42:07 PM

Rookie,
I watched all three videos. I do not see any robbing. I think what you are seeing is that your hives are starting to get stronger. as a matter of fact, as large as your hives are, I would expect even more activity and I think you will start seeing that soon. I would let them have that one or two inch opening. You also have those top entrances. Notice nothing going on there. That is where robbing will probably start. More of the hive smells come out of the top entrances. When robbing starts on one of my hives, there are bees all over the 1/8" slot of my Screen Top Boards (STB). BTW, as new bees emerge, you will probably see more and more bees start to use those top entrances. Once they start using the bottom entrance they tend to stick to it until the next hatchlings find and use the new opening.
Jim

rookie2531 · July 30, 2014, 04:43:07 PM

Thanks Jim for the time spending on my paranoia. the video says it better than I can explain and in The future I plan on using pics nd video more often. It will save a bunch of time trying to explain things. All 3 of these hives came from one ten frame deep that was split, so the large one only had five frames of bees 21 days ago and the small ones 3 a piece, and since they were so weak, I was worried. I will open them up to the 1.5 inch bottom but will leave the top closed. I will keep you posted on inspection when it comes. And thank you and everyone else for there replies

GSF · July 30, 2014, 06:39:26 PM

Don't worry about it Rookie. The same thing happened to me when I started raising goats. I read up on every goat disease/parasite there was. Then it seemed like I saw the symptoms everywhere. The same happened to me with bees.

BeeMaster2 · July 30, 2014, 10:31:22 PM

Quote from: rookie2531 on July 30, 2014, 04:43:07 PM
Thanks Jim for the time spending on my paranoia. the video says it better than I can explain and in The future I plan on using pics nd video more often. It will save a bunch of time trying to explain things. All 3 of these hives came from one ten frame deep that was split, so the large one only had five frames of bees 21 days ago and the small ones 3 a piece, and since they were so weak, I was worried. I will open them up to the 1.5 inch bottom but will leave the top closed. I will keep you posted on inspection when it comes. And thank you and everyone else for there replies

Rookie,
Glad you posted it and I could look and verify it and put you at ease. I have lost a top producing 5 box hive to robbing. It is not nice. I had marked it as a possible queen producer. I think they swarmed just before a dearth started.
Jim

Michael Bush · August 02, 2014, 12:43:51 PM

http://bushfarms.com/beesrobbing.htm