Something I've never seen before

[joeybrowne]

Hey Everyone,  I saw something today tht I've never seen before.  I was hoping to get some opinions.  I have 1 hive in my backyard.  It has 2 deep supers with one medium super on the top as cover for the jar of sugar syrup.  Earlier today, I noticed bees flying around the back of my hive.  First it seemed as if my hive was being robbed.  They were all coming in and out of the hole of the medium super.  That made me believe that they were going for the syrup.  So, I plugged every entrance except the front entrance.  A large amount of bees gathered around the hole of the medium super (that would lead to the syrup). Then, I noticed that most of the bees had full pollen sacs.  At that point I wondered if they were my bees but simply chose to use the upper entrance to the hive.  Te curious thing is that once all the holes were plugged (with the exception of the front entrance) the bees conglomerated around that plugged hole of the  medium super and didn't seem to know that the front entrance even existed...
In the end, I opened up the hive to see if I could figure out whatt was happening.  There were lots of bees inside.  They didn't seem defensive or agitated and once I put everything back together, the excitement calmed down.  Is it possible that the bees in my hive did not know how to get in the hive with the exception of the one hole in the medium super?  As an fyi, there was very little traffic from the front entrance.
Thanks for your thoughts.

[Lburou]

Learning the difference between orientation flights and robbing is an important step in one's beekeeping education.  Your pictures suggest the bees bringing pollen back belong in that hive.  No robbing bees I've seen carry visible pollen.  I'd probably open the entrance.  JMO   

[iddee]

When feeding the way you are doing, the bees should NOT have access to the hive from the top. The sugar water should only be gotten from the inside of the hive. I would close all access to the frames other than the front entrance. The home bees will find the front door. Be sure it is not blocked with dead winter bees.

When they begin drawing comb in the spring, the first comb will be wild comb in the feeder cover super and you will have a mess to deal with.

[Lburou]

When feeding the way you are doing, the bees should NOT have access to the hive from the top...

After rereading your OP, I see that iddee is correct.  Make robber bees go through the gauntlet to get to the feeder, (meaning, via a reduced front entrance).

[tecumseh]

bees are going to know location based on whatever entry they have in the hive.  if you change or plug an entry there will be a bit of confusion for a while. after a while they will adjust to the change.... < you can see this quite clearly if you add a pollen trap or a robber screen in that it may take several hours for the field bees to adjust to the change.

[Wandering Man]

bees are going to know location based on whatever entry they have in the hive.  if you change or plug an entry there will be a bit of confusion for a while. after a while they will adjust to the change.... < you can see this quite clearly if you add a pollen trap or a robber screen in that it may take several hours for the field bees to adjust to the change.

That is a question I’ve had.  The bees that belong in the hive will figure out how to get in, but robbing bees won’t? How is that?

I’ve seen wasps behind the robbing screen, making me wonder if it really does any good.

[apisbees]

Installing better locks on your house is not a guarantee to keeping all robbers out. A determined thief can still break in, but it will keep ones that are not determined and are looking for the easy score.