# Robbing



## Stone (Jun 6, 2009)

Late Sunday – around 5:30- I went over to take a look at my two TBHs and I found a great commotion. I realized that my two hives were being robbed by very LARGE dark colored bees – at least 2/3 times larger than my small cell Russians. I have no idea where they came from – feral or some other backyard beekeeper - but it was clear that robbing was going on. There was no fighting at the entrance and I learned later on, this was NOT a good sign. Having had no experience with this, I immediately went online to find out what to do. I came across Michael Bush’s article on robbing and realized I had to immediately make the entrances to the hives smaller. I have two 1 inch holes on each hive end for entrances. I took two corks, plugged each of the round entrances, and then placed a half cork in each of the other two. Each hive now had ½ the 1 inch circular hole as an entrance. Whether it was a coincidence or not, in a few short minutes the robbing stopped. Maybe this did the trick, maybe the colonies were all robbed out. I don’t know. It just stopped at this point. I left them with the reduced entrances until I’m able to come back and check this coming Saturday.
Each colony just started from nucs about 5 weeks ago and only have about 9-10 bars of comb at this point.

My questions:

What would bring on robbing from bees that don’t seem to be from the area? (I have never seen these bees before. There are no commercial pollinating operations in this area of New York State. And the closest small operator (20 hives) that I know of is about 25 miles away.) 

What could I do to protect my hives from robbing in the future?


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## Beethinking (Jun 2, 2008)

How strong are the colonies? Did you start both of them this year? Did the major nectar flow just end in your area?

Matt


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## elsyr (Dec 2, 2008)

This may sound dumb, but are you sure the bees that were doing the robbing were large honey bees? I know I see a lot of bumble bees and mason bees around here this time of year.

Doug


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## bakerboy (Apr 29, 2008)

*Drones*

What you saw were the drones coming home. They mostly all come back at the same time, for me it is usually between four and six. Their wingbeats make a louder more buzzier sound than the workers' and they are much larger.


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## Stone (Jun 6, 2009)

Cacklewack said:


> How strong are the colonies? Did you start both of them this year? Did the major nectar flow just end in your area?
> 
> Matt


Each colony was started May 22 and have 9-10 bars of comb. Weaher has been rainy for most of June so they haven't been able to get out and forage. They were still coming back with pollen when I left them on Sunday. Strange thing is I had a sugar syrup feeding station about 20 feet away and these bees weren't interested but mine were feeding.

Drones? I don't think so. My bees were definitely trying to repel these. There are a couple of these dead bees near the hive and I'll have to check - but I don't think so..too much of a commotin. Definitely not bumble bees either. Mason bees? I don't know much about them.


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## Beethinking (Jun 2, 2008)

Drones are also being repelled by a number of my hives now that the season is winding down.  In fact, yesterday some of my hives had the drones corralled at the corner of the entrances and were dragging them off the edge one by one, kicking and screaming. 

Matt


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## Stone (Jun 6, 2009)

Drones:scratch: I won't be back to the hives until Saturday. I'll have to look closely at the dead bees I discovered.

Not only were they being repelled by my bees but the strange thing is that these bees were leaving the hive on their own....and they were licking their tongues before they flew off.


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## beedeetee (Nov 27, 2004)

Cacklewack said:


> Drones are also being repelled by a number of my hives now that the season is winding down.


Wow, that's quite different from my hives. They are still raising new drones and I have queen cells ready to hatch early next week. I have never had drones drug out until September that I remember.


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## Beethinking (Jun 2, 2008)

There have been reports from all over the world on a number of different forums regarding the early booting of the drones. I'm interested to know why the widespread early eviction is occurring!

Matt


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## bakerboy (Apr 29, 2008)

My tbh made two and a half full bars of drones (and 18 bars of worker brood) in preparation for swarming. A week after I split it into three they pretty much immediately began to give the drones the bum's rush. All three hives killed/excluded most of the drones until their numbers were brought down significantly. 

Several weeks later, the drones seem to be coming and going without much grief.


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## luvin honey (Jul 2, 2009)

Cacklewack said:


> There have been reports from all over the world on a number of different forums regarding the early booting of the drones. I'm interested to know why the widespread early eviction is occurring!
> 
> Matt


I saw one drone being forcefully evicted. It looked a bit beaten up, too. Can anybody tell me under what circumstances drones freely come and go from the hive (besides during a mating voyage)?


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## Beethinking (Jun 2, 2008)

As long as the workers are willing to tolerate them they are allowed to come and go freely. However, at this point, at least in my area, the drones seem to be getting the shaft and the workers are beginning to forcibly remove them.

Remember that the drones don't mate with their own queen -- they fly about drone congregation areas looking for queens from other hives with whom to mate. Once there are no longer virgin queens flying, they have failed at their life purpose and it is only a matter of time before the workers cut down their population.

Matt


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## luvin honey (Jul 2, 2009)

Oh, I forgot that part. What about accompanying their own queen on her mating voyage?


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## Stone (Jun 6, 2009)

*Re: Robbing: You all were right - drones*

You all were right; they were drones. 

They all seemed to be coming back to my two new TBH colonies at about the same time every day - early evening, 5:30 or so. My guess is that they are coming back from mating flights. My "#2 colony" has been in slow motion since it started from a nuc. A few weeks ago I spotted a supercedure cell in it. Now this colony seems to be in high gear! Maybe there's new royalty in charge now.


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## hookdriver (Aug 11, 2009)

Cacklewack said:


> There have been reports from all over the world on a number of different forums regarding the early booting of the drones. I'm interested to know why the widespread early eviction is occurring!
> 
> Matt


I think that the bees know more about seasonal weather than the climate alarmists. Brace for an early fall and a cold winter this year. Notice that the tropical storms from Africa aren't doing much this year also?
Carl


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## Sam-Smith (Jul 26, 2009)

Cacklewack said:


> Drones are also being repelled by a number of my hives now that the season is winding down.  In fact, yesterday some of my hives had the drones corralled at the corner of the entrances and were dragging them off the edge one by one, kicking and screaming.
> 
> Matt


Lol kicking and screaming? Poor guys told to eat fly then die and if they are lucky mate then die inch:
I have yet to see drones being evicted but I have noticed that the number or drones are really low now, at the times they usually fly there is only a fraction of the numbers I was seeing in summer.


Sam.


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## LenInNorCal (Feb 28, 2009)

First hive last year, my Lang had a BUNCH of dead guys out in front last year one morning in the early fall. All drones from the size of them.


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## Sam-Smith (Jul 26, 2009)

For about a weeks now I have noticed a small number of drones and a large number of under developed drone pupa under the entrance of each hive, and If I watch the entrance for a few minutes the occasional bee will drag a large drone pupa out and try to move it away from the hive. I figure they are commiting a massacre against the poor guys  It also has been getting cold at night lately so they are getting ready for the winter.
Btw I pretty sure the chandler type hives are skunk proof since they are on 3'+ legs, I have watched one on several occasions snooping around under each hive for bees but it never looks up, I doubt it could reach the entrance. The beek I worked for this summer said they scratch the lang hives at the entrance then eat the bees that come out to defend the hive.


Sam.


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