Robbing
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Holy smokes! What a frenzy, and what a way to start the week. The post time says 9am - my bees are barely awake at that time!
What kind of tree/bush/shrub is that behind the hive? Interesting leaves.
What kind of tree/bush/shrub is that behind the hive? Interesting leaves.
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4,121 Posts
Dumb question but how do you tell robbing from bearding? Is the robbing insane and frenzied whereas bearding is more of a calm cluster?
Can you do anything to prevent the robbing, like put in a reducer in the main opening so the resident bees have less area to defend against intruders?
Can you do anything to prevent the robbing, like put in a reducer in the main opening so the resident bees have less area to defend against intruders?
Adron is right if you find it in time. This one had two pounds of dead bees on the ground and a pound of wax cappings. It was too far gone to help.
The bush, or tree, is a weed, or garbage tree, as we call it. It gets to be 8 inches on the trunk and when you cut it down, the roots send up another 100 tree shoots. It seems impossible to kill. I have been fighting it for 15 years and still losing ground.
The bush, or tree, is a weed, or garbage tree, as we call it. It gets to be 8 inches on the trunk and when you cut it down, the roots send up another 100 tree shoots. It seems impossible to kill. I have been fighting it for 15 years and still losing ground.
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1,838 Posts
whoa! NEVER seen anything like that...bet it took some guts just to take the picture. bee suit, wet bed sheet, rope. throw the wet sheet over the mess, tie it off, if it takes it....if the mess calms down, stop it off, add a screen to allow air. but wonder what caused the weekness to began with.
usually the first signs of robbing looks like a drunk being thrown out of a bar. a couple of hive bees dragging a bee or two out. the robber goes for a tumble and flies off. the guard bees will be aggravated, darting toward every bee that tries to enter. the robbers (they are carring no load) will fly in high and try to land inside the hive instead of landing on the board and walking in. sometimes they will fly in and withdraw several times before trying to land (although this is easily confused with new hive bees taking their first flight). the successful robbers will (in early stages of robbing) climb up the face of the hive (they are heavy with honey) and then take flight.
seems like alot of things in my life. if you ask yourself "does that look like robbing?" IT IS. stop down the hive or screen it off altogether before its too late. better to combine a weak hive to another one than loose it altgether.
usually the first signs of robbing looks like a drunk being thrown out of a bar. a couple of hive bees dragging a bee or two out. the robber goes for a tumble and flies off. the guard bees will be aggravated, darting toward every bee that tries to enter. the robbers (they are carring no load) will fly in high and try to land inside the hive instead of landing on the board and walking in. sometimes they will fly in and withdraw several times before trying to land (although this is easily confused with new hive bees taking their first flight). the successful robbers will (in early stages of robbing) climb up the face of the hive (they are heavy with honey) and then take flight.
seems like alot of things in my life. if you ask yourself "does that look like robbing?" IT IS. stop down the hive or screen it off altogether before its too late. better to combine a weak hive to another one than loose it altgether.
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