Under attack by robber bees!

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BirdsBees
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun May 29, 2016 9:44 am

Under attack by robber bees!

Post by BirdsBees » Sun May 29, 2016 9:52 am

Hello, I'm relatively new to beekeeping and our hive recently came under attack by robber bees. I've reduced the entrance size and also tried the wet sheet over the hive. Anything else I can do to help with this? Thank you.

kristinahoney
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Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 8:44 am
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Re: Under attack by robber bees!

Post by kristinahoney » Sun May 29, 2016 8:53 pm

Hi,
Are you sure they're robber bees? What does the behavior look like? Bees don't usually rob in the spring, although they certainly can. Does the robbing occur at a particular time of day? Drone flight is at it's peak this time of year and can look very dramatic. They go out around 10 and return around 2 or 3. Is your hive very weak? Are you maybe using an entrance feeder that's leaking? There are special robbing screens you can put on the entrance. You can buy them or easily make them. Just google "robbing screen." Sorry there's more questions than answers - just trying to diagnose what's going on.
Cheers,
Kristina Williams
Beehave LLC mentoring and hive support
Boulder, CO

BirdsBees
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun May 29, 2016 9:44 am

Re: Under attack by robber bees!

Post by BirdsBees » Mon May 30, 2016 8:29 pm

Thank you for getting back to me. It seems like our bees are fighting off other bees. They surround bees returning to the hive and seem to be fighting on the ledge to the entrance of our hive. We put up the screen and moved the sugar water away from our hive. We recieved a nuke from California and they seemed to be doing well until a few days ago. The attack seems to be happening during they day. Maybe 8-6. Any help or ideas you have would be appreciate. Thank you.

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