Robbing Screen On

[Jen]

Yesterday I had the beginnings of a huge potential robbing in one of my hives. Took pics and was advise to turn the sprinkler on the hive. This thread here: Robbing And Agression At The Entrance.  Did that, it calmed it down. Then after dusk I put on my robbing screen. You see that the opening is only about 1 1/2 inches.. but If I flip it over it will be open all the way from end to end. I saw so many bees trying to figure out how to get out, and it was jammed up in there. Can I turn it over to open it up for my bees... and still keep the robbers out?

[Bamabww]

I think so Jen but let some one with more experience with robbers help you make up your mind. I've only had one robbing occur, that I'm aware of anyway.

[Jen]

K    Thanks Bam

[Riverrat]

leave it has it is they will figure it out.  If you turn it around you will end up giving the robbers easier access to the hive. Think about it when you make it easier for the bees to get out you make it easier for the robbers to get in. 

[Jen]

From what I understand, the robbers will stay down to the entrance where the scent of the hive comes out, and not be able to figure out how to get over the top, then they give up. But my bees will quickly learn how to come out of the entrance, crawl up and and, re-orient, then fly to forage.

[pistolpete]

It takes two to three days for the house bees to start using the robber screened entrance efficiently.  I always feel sorry for them too.  You see them crawling back and forth with a load of pollen trying to find a way in.   Traffic jams are a normal part of the process.    The screens I use do not have a reduced entrance up top and they seem to do the trick fine, so turning the thing around should be ok, unless the colony is really weak.

[Jen]

Not a weak colony at all, it is my best one. Thanks Pete

[brooksbeefarm]

Like you Jen, i've had two strong hives robbed out this year with weaker hives with heavy stores next to them?? I put robber screens on them just in case. The strong hives were two deeps,queen excluder and three med. supers full on top, but not all capped, with bees from top to bottom? The hive i seen being robbed out was in a outyard with 13 other hives and i seen bees coming from several of them involved in the robbing? I joined in and saved a super and a half of honey against my wife's protest because of the amount of bees in the air, put a robber screen on it, came back 5 days later and things looked normal, took the robber screen off and started taking honey off another hive, thought the bees i heard flying was from the hive i was robbing, but they were back robbing the one i took the screen off??? Put the screen back on closed the hive i was robbing up and brought home the hive they were picking on with the robber screen. Checked it the next day and there was a queen and about two and a half frames of bees still in it.Question, why would they attacked a strong hive with weaker hives with stores near by that would be easy pickings? Jack

[Bamabww]

i've had two strong hives robbed out this year with weaker hives with heavy stores next to them??
Question, why would they attacked a strong hive with weaker hives with stores near by that would be easy pickings? Jack

Same here, my strongest hive was robbed by a feral hive with 3 weaker hives right next door. But in mine, the queen was killed, by the robbers (?), and I didn't find it out until a week later. All my efforts to save it were in vain.

[Jen]

Today I did an inspection on the hive that was getting robbed yesterday. All seems well in that hive. But like clockwork, around 2pm,  the robbing bees came and surrounds me and the hive, while the hive was open. THAT was an experience! but I didn't recieve one sting. I have the robbing screen on, so there wasn't an aggression, just loud buzzing. But they started moving over to the hive next door. So, right away I put excuders on the other three hives plus a stretch of duct take so that there was just enough room for the hive bees to get in and out one at a time. I'm picking up three robbing screens tomorrow in the next town.

Good thing I caught this robbing event in time 

[pistolpete]

those boardman feeders may be attracting robbers as well.   Moving them inside an empty box on top of the inner cover would solve that (provided the thing is bee tight to the outside).

[Jen]

That is water in the boardmans. It has been a handy way to help the bees with water thru this severe draught.

[riverbee]

"right away I put excuders on"

excluders or reducers? 

jen, i wouldn't open the hives for a few days until everyone settles down. good decision to reduce the entrances to all the hives. 

[Jen]

Pht! Thanks Riv 'reducers' that's not the first time I've mixed those two words up 

[brooksbeefarm]

Not to worry Jen, i call reducers mouse guards sometimes, but they are different. Jack

[Jen]

All robbing screens on and bees re-orienting. Life is good 

[riverbee]

...............

good to go jen!