Robbing??? I saw this activity today when I got home...

[CpnObvious]

Do I need to make and install a robbing screen tonight?

It seemed that every once in a while a bee was being dragged out and, ultimately, taken to the ground.  They were getting rid of drones... but few were drones.

I may be at fault...  I removed the 3rd deep (from combining the hives a month or so ago).  This hive didn't have quite the same amount of stores in it, so I took some partial frames that I was taking away and left them next to the hive.  They were cleaning them pretty quickly.  I didn't see any bees leaving the frames and flying anywhere but to the hive.  I s'pose this could have attracted others.

[riverbee]

"so I took some partial frames that I was taking away and left them next to the hive."

robbing screen on pronto capn, and on all hives that you have......

[CpnObvious]

It's a lot thicker (about 7/8") that the "normal" 3/8"thick or so, but in the interest of "pronto", it's what I had in my scrap bin.  The entrance/exit are about 3/8-7/16" x ~ 3/4"-1" wide.  Acceptable??





As a side note: They weren't too keen on me doing this. 

BTW... Thank you, Riverbee, for the crazy-fast reply and help!

[pistolpete]

the screen you have will be ok for now.  The next one you make needs tome mods.  The top and bottom sticks sit piggy back on the two sides, this results in none of the ventilation being blocked and a full size exit on top.  Also it only needs to be about 1/2 as tall as it is.   The robbers always try to enter through the bottom and the house bees learn to use the top.

[riverbee]

hey capn, it works and it's great!  whatever you can get on there in a short hurry, you were fast!

"As a side note: They weren't too keen on me doing this."
sure they weren't, bees don't care to be 'locked down', and at night?.......kudos for that!....... but you did the right thing and quickly, and hopefully all will settle down.

iddee has a good robbing/moving screen here, easy to make.......
Robber Screen & Moving Screen

i make my own too, a variation of what you did, and a 'copy' of a another screen by brushy mountain:
8-FRM FLORIDA MOVING/ SCREEN  this screen works for robbing hives as well.

keep us posted and let us know how it's going capn!

[CpnObvious]

The more I think about this,the more I wonder... Has this been going on for a while?  My lower deep has very little honey stored in it, despite the amount of syrup they were taking in.  I had noticed a bunch, maybe 30-50 dead bees on the ground in front, but honestly didn't think much of it, I figured it was the norm for this time of year as the bee count goes down.  I was looking to see if they were workers or drones, most we're not drones.

[riverbee]

it's possible capn.  you may have had robbers taking the syrup as well? dead bees this time of year, yes you will have them, older bees dying off, or a sign of pests/diseases or maybe robbing.   if the bees have stored capped nectar/capped cured syrup, and have been robbed you will see bits of wax out the front door also.  awhile?  it doesn't take long for a weaker hive to be robbed out.

your error was placing partial honey frames next to the hive you were trying to help. this set off the robbing.

a thread on robbing bees and behavior:

Robber Bees ~ Robbing Behavior

[Gypsi]

PistolPete do you have a photo of the robber screen you are describing?

[iddee]

Gypsi, Riverbee gave it to you in reply # 4. Here it is again.

http://www.worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/index.php/topic,1420.msg19070.html#msg19070

[Gypsi]

I see.  And I can't rip to that thickness, but I do have some 3/8 inch plywood, wonder if that would work?

[iddee]

It would work fine. Just cut it into 3/4 in. wide strips.

[Gypsi]

Thank you!

[CpnObvious]

So I've been watching to see what happens, and I've been a bit nervous that my bees aren't able to get back in.  I haven't see any more fighting, but I'm worried.  Tonight, I found a bunch of bees randomly sitting in groups around the hive.  Even as cold as it's getting, they don't seem to be going to their home... or ARE they home?  They've (or the wind?) even managed to push in the wood that I had blocking the exterior hole of the inner cover (the days are warm enough that I'm still jar-feeding in the top) and there are a bunch of bees inside, though they can't get into the hive that way because the jar is blocking it.  I have now bent some #8 HW cloth, fully preventing more bees from entering the top (jar-feeding) super.  There are a bunch of bees trapped in there, but I don't know what else to do... ADVICE???

Also, the bees that are clustered randomly around, small groups of 3-8, seem to be a little territorial, thus making me feel they just want to go home.





There are more small clusters on pieces of wood on the ground.  I just don't know what to make of this.

[ledifni]

Well, it may help to know that after I put a robber screen on my hive, there were lots of bees just hanging around constantly for a couple of weeks.  After a while it subsided.  I would guess that you still have hopeful robbers hanging around.  Your hive bees won't have any trouble getting in and out of the screen.  I was worried about the same thing, until I watched for a while and started to notice how some bees (mine) found their way in immediately, while others (robbers) hovered and crawled around poking at any spot that looked like it might be an opening.

For the inner cover, Gypsi showed me how to roll up a bit of metal screening and stuff it in the inner cover hole -- it's a lot harder for robbers to push that in.  You might try that, it worked perfectly for me.  After a little while my bees glued it solidly in place so it wouldn't move at all.

Not sure what to do about the bees in the top, since you can't leave it open while feeding.  They may just have to die in there.  Anyway, they probably aren't your bees anyway -- your bees wouldn't be hunting for weird ways into the hive, they already know where the entrance is.

[iddee]

I would take the feed off and open the whole bottom entrance an hour or a little less before dark, then replace them an hour or more after dark. Then see what it looks like tomorrow.

[Gypsi]

I agree with Iddee, open at an hour before sunset at bottom and maybe leave the lid off the box around the feeder as long as it 100% doesn't allow access to your hive, cover again after dark, will let them sort themselves out. For future not getting in that top box, rolled up screening allows ventilation but not shb and not beespace

[ShepherdsWatchFarm]

How long ago before the video did you add the entrance reducer? Sometimes when I change the hive entrance location I see confusion on the front porch for a little while.