Fostering A Relocated Hive Due To Robbing

[Jen]

Two other beeks and I did a simple cut out on the wall of a barn a couple weeks ago. My beek friend Mar, took the colony home to add to her apiary, queen was included but died in the night.

Because of the small colony and their vulnerability, robbers jumped on this hive like you know what on stink. Mar threw on a robbing screen in the middle of the afternoon and kept a wet sheet on the hive for several days, to no avail the robbers were relentless. And she didn't know that if you put on a robbing screen in the afternoon, that the robbers get that figured out in a nano second. Robbing screens have to go on close to night fall.

AnyHoo! We relocated her hive to my house last night for a couple weeks maybe more.

The robbing screen Mar has on her hive is from Mann Lake. I don't understand this contraption, especially during robbing season! I use the screens from Country Rubes. I see the exit opening on the top left, I get that. But I don't get the two openings on the bottom of the screen. That Is Where Robbers Hang Out! Even if you open them a little bit, one or two bee width, robbers will line up there and shoot in like bullets. Robbing starts in 5 minutes and turn into a torrent in 6 minutes. What is the purpose of the two entrances at the bottom?

[RAST]

Let the hive bees come and go when no robbing is taking place and you don't want to take it off.

[Wandering Man]

Two other beeks and I did a simple cut out on the wall of a barn a couple weeks ago. My beek friend Mar, took the colony home to add to her apiary, queen was included but died in the night.

Because of the small colony and their vulnerability, robbers jumped on this hive like you know what on stink. Mar threw on a robbing screen in the middle of the afternoon and kept a wet sheet on the hive for several days, to no avail the robbers were relentless. And she didn't know that if you put on a robbing screen in the afternoon, that the robbers get that figured out in a nano second. Robbing screens have to go on close to night fall.

AnyHoo! We relocated her hive to my house last night for a couple weeks maybe more.

The robbing screen Mar has on her hive is from Mann Lake. I don't understand this contraption, especially during robbing season! I use the screens from Country Rubes. I see the exit opening on the top left, I get that. But I don't get the two openings on the bottom of the screen. That Is Where Robbers Hang Out! Even if you open them a little bit, one or two bee width, robbers will line up there and shoot in like bullets. Robbing starts in 5 minutes and turn into a torrent in 6 minutes. What is the purpose of the two entrances at the bottom?

The bottom 2 stay closed when robbing is happening.  and the top two stay open.  You can also use it as an entrance reducer, and leave one or both of the bottom two openings open under non-robbing situations.

If you want to hang around the front of the hive, you might be able to confuse the robbers a little longer by only having one opening on the top, and then switch to the other if you think they are getting wise.

[Bakersdozen]

Jen, I'm glad I'm not alone.  Some of these gadgets baffle me too.  Unassembled and no instructions is a double head scratcher for me!   

I'm glad we have members that can 'splain these gadgets.

[Jen]

A Quandary about the foster hive.

The cut out hive was brought to my yard to cease the robbing. All was quiet and the bees seemed at peace. A couple days later, I lifted the lid and proceeded to inspected the damaged colony. There are three newly capped queen cells.

I was in the hive about 20-30 mins max, and I noticed my bees were coming over and starting squabbles, fighting on the ground, and walking across the seams of the hive to find a way in.

Is there such a thing as a robbing pheromone that can linger in a hive, then even if you move the hive other bees would detect that that is a weakened hive?

[Wandering Man]

Is it time to do a newspaper merge with another colony?

[iddee]

What do you do to keep a hive open for a half hour? I go into a hive with a purpose. When that purpose is accomplished, i close it up. Never more than 3 to 5 minutes during robbing season. An open hive gives off a smell that drifts through the air, saying "free food, come and get it".

[Bakersdozen]

I would suggest placing a burlap bag or piece of plywood over half of the brood box while you inspect the other half.  Robbing is especially difficult to control during a dearth.  In this part of the country, that is starting now.  It's during these times you will want to be even quicker with inspections.  When inspecting, the beekeeper will want to find eggs and larvae (queen right), look for signs of disease or test for varroa, check for ample food stores,  and assess the strength of the colony then close it up.  If you find the colony weak and hopelessly with out a queen going into the fall, do like Wandering Man suggests, combine with another colony.
Moving the hive may have made the situation worse.  Were foragers left behind during the move? Losing a portion of the work force can be very detrimental.  No matter what, I would feed this colony with an in-hive feeder.