Summer is an abundant time : Sun shines and ambrosia period . By now , your bee are throng away the beloved and build up their populations . Most healthy hives are ( comparatively ) sustentation detached by early summertime . But part of what makes urticaria so comfortable to make out for the beekeeper — healthy population and abundant honey stores — also make them butt for robbing .
What is robbing ?
apiculturist apply the termrobbingto mean the taking of store from one beehive by either the members of another hive , or other bees and white Anglo-Saxon Protestant . Though robbing is more common later in the summertime , it ’s secure to be aware of it now and recognise what signs to look for . This will help oneself you be inclined to fend off posterior time of year onset .
Here ’s your best course of action as a apiculturist against robbing :
1. Keep Your Hives Strong
This , of course , is always the goal , and always the remedy for just about any honeybee ailment . “ Strong ” colonies are those with ample numbers , sound bees , minimal varoa mite count , little to no pestilence , no disease and a healthy , vibrant queen .
2. Be Neat and Tidy
When it come to hiveinspectionsorhoney harvest , do n’t will equipment lying around or might head to robbing . Equipment , such as hive tools , honest-to-god frames or any other item that ’s been within the hive box that has the potential to be covered in honey , should be drive indoors and stored now after use of goods and services . Leaving these out invite trouble , simple as that . Other bees as well as yellow jackets , wasp and ant are among critter pull in by the slew , and they come in droves . Even leaving equipment out for an hr could be enough to signal to neighboring settlement that food is usable for the taking .
3. Monitor the Entrance and Use Preventative Measures
What does robbing wait like ? You might see non - honeybee insect such as wasps seek to accede the hive through the entrance . If your guard bees are strong , they will struggle the potential robbers off at the entranceway . Sometimes , Apis mellifera from neighbour hives will take to robbing , and this will look like your bee fighting each other at the entrance . check carefully and look for evidence of any trouble . If you see signs of robbing ( dead bee or wasps is one signboard ) , install entryway reducers to give your bees an reward . Entrance reductant are minor wooden planks that make the initiative of the hive smaller , so your bees have to fight back less area .
A note on entrance reducer : Do n’t leave them up all time of year , and use them sporadically as need . Because they make the entry to the beehive diminished , it does slow down the flowing of workers going to and from the hive on foraging adventures . This could reduce honey production , so expend them only when absolutely necessary .
The good news remains the same : warm hive are proficient able-bodied to defend themselves and retain to farm . If you give your honeybees the tools ( and sometimes infinite ) they necessitate to thrive , you ’ll face less hurdles as a beekeeper such as robbing and see more ease and pleasure .
