Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
You could, however, bungle the issue and irritate the bees even more than usual while
carrying out the above manipulations so that they become totally out of hand. The best
advice I can give is to cover everything up quickly and go home. Retry the next day with
a better operations plan.
If robber bees sound like something out of the Middle Ages, then this is probably
because robber bees operate on the same lines as the original robber barons of old.
Robbing occurs when bees from one or more colonies attempt to enter and rob the
stores of other hives. This is a serious problem in that, if it gets out of hand, some
hives may lose all their stores and many of their foragers in the fighting, thus hugely
debilitating that colony. Small nucleus hives that get in the way can easily be wiped out.
Some bees are more inclined to rob than others, but Italians are usually the first in.
Most robbing outbreaks are the result of feeding the bees, and honey or syrup exposed
in the apiary - especially during a period of dearth - can start it off. Within minutes,
a scout finding the honey tells her mates, and the problem grows from there. Feeding
small nucleus colonies can also cause problems. These are small and, due to their small
numbers, are unable to defend themselves against large-scale attack.
Colonies that are low in numbers because of disease are especially problematical. They
are often robbed out by bees from larger colonies, who then spread the disease all over
the apiary and beyond. American foul brood (AFB) can be spread this way and, if left
unchecked, can wipe out an entire apiary.
Robbing is easy to detect during an external hive inspection and, if you notice the
following signs, you have an outbreak on your hands:
Greatly increased activity at the hive's entrance.
Bees fighting at the colony's entrance.
