Robbing - anything else I can do?

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oread_uk

New Bee
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Sheffield
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Hi - I'm new to this forum - so hello all.

I started this year as a new beekeeper with two 5 frame nucs of bees delivered in July that have done ok over the summer. Following an inspection this Tuesday, both colonies were queen right with brood in all stages, no noticeable disease and some stores.

Both colonies were lower on stores than they need to be going into the winter so I have been feeding them sugar solution over the past couple of weeks. I've been really careful to feed at dusk, not spill anything and, when doing the inspection, I made sure the supers were covered over. I'm careful not to leave any brace comb or other detritus around. I've also had both colonies on a reduced entrance hole all summer as they were quite small and I wanted them to be able to defend themselves.

Yesterday, I went down to the apiary (which is at the bottom of the garden so I normally head down there a few times every day to watch hive traffic) and it was chaos. Loads of bees outside the hive zig-zagging about, some fighting and the noise! My colonies are generally very docile but they were very agitated - to the point where I got my first sting yesterday by a bee that chased me up the garden! I recognised from the reading I've done that they were being robbed and quickly suited up, lit the smoker and went down there to reduce the entrance hole to the smallest gap. The attacking bees appeared to dissipate and calm was restored fairly quickly.

There was a little wax outside one hive and a few dead bees.

I've gone down again today and it looks as though they are at it again. Not like yesterday but a number of bees on the outside of the hive and zig zagging around trying to get in. I have no idea how much success they are having getting in through the reduced entrance, nor what damage was done yesterday before I closed up the entrance to the smallest hole. Having only inspected them on Tuesday, I really don't want to open them up again and cause them more disturbance.

Is there anything else I can practically do at this stage or is it just a case of hoping that the bees in my colonies are able to defend themselves? I've read about moving the colonies elsewhere but that's not a practical solution as I have nowhere to move them to. Has anyone else had this happen with colonies that have managed to battle through it?

There is a LOT more to beekeeping than I could ever have imagined. Talk about a steep learning curve!

Any advice welcome,
 
There is not a lot more you can do. I have had it my self in the past. I would suggest reducing the entrance down to around 6mm x 20mm this will give the bees less to defend. I would also go around the hive and look to see if you have got any gaps if there is get some tape and go around the hive to cover them up.
 
Hi Bob_o,

Thanks. Its on the smallest entrance and there's definitely not gaps anywhere else for them to get in. I've just been down again and it seems calm again but who knows... We've had some showers, so maybe that's helped.
 
Bob-o -did your colonies who were attacked by robbing bees pull through?
 
There is not a lot more you can do. I have had it my self in the past. I would suggest reducing the entrance down to around 6mm x 20mm this will give the bees less to defend. I would also go around the hive and look to see if you have got any gaps if there is get some tape and go around the hive to cover them up.

Other than using an entrance block, are there other suitable methods of reducing the hive entrance?

Is tape sufficient?
 
How close together are your nuc's? Is it your bees robbing each other or bees from elsewhere? Probably not what you want to do but you could combine into one strong hive keeping your best Q and do a split next spring when they get going
Wingy
 
Would it be helpful to cover the hives with a wet sheet for a time?

- This is a question for more experienced beekeepers on here than I am.
 
Thanks Millet- that's a really useful thread.

Wingy _i'm pretty sure it isn't my other colony (they seem darker than the bees in both of mine) but I am keeping an eye on them.

I'll try modifying the entrance. Thanks for the responses.

L
 
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robbing

move the hive to another apiary/place if you can more than 3 mile away.
 
If it's not your own colony robbing one of the hives and one of your hives is stronger than the other you could probably switch the hives over.

But I'm new to this too.
 
Has anyone tried the metal entrance block with offset entrance holes that's sold by the onlne dealer beginning with 'T'?
 
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My solution was to give the robbers something else to rob.. an open feeder placed well away from the hives (10m or so) and easily accessible to bees. Works a treat..

Keeps wasps out of hives as well...

Not a lot of feed - just enough to keep them occupied robbing that.
 
My solution was to give the robbers something else to rob.. an open feeder placed well away from the hives (10m or so) and easily accessible to bees. Works a treat..

Keeps wasps out of hives as well...

Not a lot of feed - just enough to keep them occupied robbing that.

That may well work for you but i would never open feed because of the other colonies in the area, the last thing i would want to see is my bees picking any diseases up from other bees that will also be attracted to a open feeder.
 
That may well work for you but i would never open feed because of the other colonies in the area, the last thing i would want to see is my bees picking any diseases up from other bees that will also be attracted to a open feeder.

If they are being robbed, it's no different.
 
Thanks Millet- that's a really useful thread.

Wingy _i'm pretty sure it isn't my other colony (they seem darker than the bees in both of mine) but I am keeping an eye on them.

I'll try modifying the entrance. Thanks for the responses.

L

Shake some icing sugar over the robbers then you can see if they fly back to the other hive.
 
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