# Bees Killing Eachother



## peacekeeperapiaries (Jun 23, 2009)

robbing comes to mind


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## ken rice (Apr 28, 2010)

Yes sounds like robbing. Try reducing your entrance so the hive will have a better chance to protect itself.


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## Freon11 (Aug 18, 2009)

Reduce the entrance NOW ,Had the same situation Beggining of July .


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## honeybeekeeper (Mar 3, 2010)

First thing that came to mind would be robbing!! Need to get iit taking care of ASAP!!


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## heaflaw (Feb 26, 2007)

How & what are you feeding? Feeding honey this time of year and especially feeding outside of the hive or where other bees can easily smell it promotes robbing. A strong hive can kill out a weak one in a short length of time. Use entrance reducers and solid bottom boards on weak hives and close the vent hole in the inner cover. If you see robbing going on, reduce the entrance immediately with a reducer or clumps of grass to give the weak hive a better chance of defending itself. A lit smoker in front of the hive or a garden hose sprinkler may help over a period of several hours. But the robbing probably won't really stop until dark and may start again the next day if the honey is still exposed. The more bees the weak hive loses, the more prone they are to being robbed.


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## hossein yeganehrad (Aug 31, 2006)

Move the bees to a location with some honey and pollen flow. Or feed the strong hives at evening and take the honey from them and give it to the weak hives. Usually weak hives cannot take their syrup in time and get robbed out. 
Also, when a colony has protein deficiency, or a shortage of pollen flow, they will not accept any other bees entering in their hive. They fight for the syrup, nectar, honey, etc.


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## wdcrkapry205 (Feb 11, 2010)

Yep, welcome to summer beekeeping in Al. It's robbing. There is a dearth on here with nothing to work. The weaker a hive is the more you gotta close it up, and no useless digging around in hives just to see what's going on. Not at this time of year.


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## beecrazy101 (Jul 6, 2010)

bees are killing eachother over the sugar water. They are actually ripping eachother apart. I have ordered a pollen substitute and mega bee nutrient to help out the bees. I don't believe its robbing considering that there is no other bee, just attacking eachother. I missed a feeding today and found more bees dead, dismembered. They are going through 4 quarts of sugar water a day. I believe that it is nutrient difency due to they are new and have nothing to work. they are not bringing in any pollen just sitting at the hive entrance in big clumps.


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## frazzledfozzle (May 26, 2010)

What do you mean you don't think it's robbing because there are no other bees?
Are you saying you think it's the bees from the one hive killing each other over sugar syrup?

I think you will find that there are other bees around and I think you will find that it is definately robbing going on. 

frazz


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## beecrazy101 (Jul 6, 2010)

yea. I have a top feeder. When I open it it is always empty. I started feeding morning and evening. What was happening was when I took the lid off to fill the feeder, the bees where attacking one another. I have little black VSH bees and they were attacking eachother. I sit a watch for about five minutes. They are grabbing and attacking eachother. It is not hard to tell my bees from another bee. The one that stung to death, I watched my own bees do it. I watch them grabbing eachother legs in a furry, watched my girls trying to get away from one another. But since I have been feeding morning and night, it has calmed down. I have one hive. No other hives. I have killed a carpenter bee, just one, that was sitting on the lid. I thought it was robbing, but how can they rob when it is the bees from that hive? They are not doing the fighting at the entrance, they are doing it on top of the feeder box. And they are not attacking other bees that are trying to feed on the sugar water, they are attacking one another when they run out. As long as I feed morning and night, they are calm, but miss one of those feedings, and I have dead bees, my own, in the feeder.


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## wdcrkapry205 (Feb 11, 2010)

If you don't get a grip you are going to loose this hive.

1. Stop feeding!
2. The beetles are going to love the pollen patties. Don't do it.
3. If you haven't already, reduce the entrance.
4. If they don't have a queen they are done.
5. If they can't survive right now without constant feeding and pollen patties , you don't want them.
6. Last but not least these suggestions are only my OPINIONS based on my experience in Al.
7. I truly hope your hive survives. O.K., I'm thru now.


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## beecrazy101 (Jul 6, 2010)

Ok. Tomorrow I will take away the feeder. I have a reduced entrance, but I will reduce it more. I have SHB traps made to go into the hives tomorrow. I have a queen, at least on last check, which I will find tomorrow. I thought this wass the dearth of the season? I just put them in on July 1 this year, all new equipment. I just ordered the patties yesterday, and mega bee. Should I give them either, or just let them go and see if they are going to make it? I don't want to loose them, but I have been looking for Italians if I loose these. Thanks. I am going to do what is suggested, just kind of aggervated. I want to have bees. I like what they do and the honey they produce. Also, should I feed after a while or just let them go and see what happens from here on out? Thanks.


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## wdcrkapry205 (Feb 11, 2010)

Is this a nuc or what? The most important advice I can give right now with what is going on is stop opening that hive. You have got to let them try to get over this hurdle. Forget the pollen patty for now; that is the least of your worries. There should be plenty of golden rod coming on. Try not to feed until September; but at the very least not until this situation is over. Is this your only hive?


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## beecrazy101 (Jul 6, 2010)

yes this is my only hive. I started it with a 3# package. When I go feed I just slide the inner cover over a little and pour the sugar water in it and then shut it. I am taking the feeder away today. I am hoping for the best.


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## beecrazy101 (Jul 6, 2010)

oh. And I am not going to open the hive again. When should I go in for a peek. A month, two weeks, six weeks, or should I just wait till I see them booming outside the hive? Thanks


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## beecrazy101 (Jul 6, 2010)

bees are seeming to do a lot better already. I took the hive feeder off and closed the entrance to the small block in the entrance reducer. I couldn't take it anymore so I went in for a peek. There are still SHB in there but just seems like just as many as before. So I freshened up the traps with some pollen substitute and combat ultimate. Queen is still good. Watched on bee actually attacking one of the SHB trying to sting it. Also watched bees flying in with full pollen sacks. Thanks for the great advise. :applause: There is a lot more honey already in the HB then there was when I was feeding. Thanks again.


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## wdcrkapry205 (Feb 11, 2010)

Good job! Try to leave them alone a couple weeks, let the queen lay a bunch of brood. I hesitate to recommend this but you could go out at right before dusky dark and spray the top bars with 1:1 sugar syrup quickly and close it up. No more than they can clean up in 1/2 hour! Less is more in this case, this well encourage your queen to lay more. And I mean right at dark!

Good Luck!


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## Tara (Jun 17, 2010)

Speaking of robbing, is that what happened here? It looks like something took the area with the capped honey all the way down to the foundation. Something also tore out a queen cell that was on this frame--it was day 14 and there were 2 intact queen cells remaining in the same nuc, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't her or another queen.


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## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

Tara said:


> Speaking of robbing, is that what happened here?


Mouse.:scratch:


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## beecrazy101 (Jul 6, 2010)

Thank You. I doubt if I get to do the sugar water this week or next week, I work swing shifts and I am on nights. I will make sure not to open the hive for about two weeks now. Hopefully I have dead SHB when I open it this time. I was out there again and saw more bees flying in full pollen sacks. I think in two weeks I should be able to put the second deep on. There was 5 1/2 frames drawn out. When this all started they stopped drawing the comb, but they have started to draw slowly. Thanks Again. Dan.


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