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Author Topic: swarm hive being robbed by original hive  (Read 2774 times)

Offline terencius

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swarm hive being robbed by original hive
« on: June 28, 2009, 12:05:06 pm »
We started a nuc hive this spring which did too well (even with two deep hive boxes) and they swarmed two weeks ago. Luckily we caught swarm and set up another hive box. We have limited room so we placed new swarm hive box about 50 feet from original.

We used top feeder over single deep hive body containing swarm and fed 1:1 sugar for a little over week  and added second deep hive body . Upon first inspection,  new swarm had drawn out comb on all ten frames on bottom hive body and eight frames on top deep hive body. (lots of stored honey(sugar water) and some pollen and some capped honey but no obvious eggs or larvae or capped brood yet even tho large lively queen was spotted.)

Particularly when we were using top feeder but even  after we stopped feeding swarm hive there was a large traffic volume of bees flying back and forth between original hive and swarm hive. It was a large swarm (basketball size plus) but seems like at least as many bees are still in original hive which is putting on honey now in a super over two deep hive boxes containing a fair amount of brood and capped honey.

At our second inspection of swarm hive, the queen had laid several frames of brood  with some capped brood already but the stored uncapped honey  (sugar water) from previous week was entirely gone. It appears that the bees from the original hive are coming into the new hive en masse and robbing the swarm hive, completely depleting any honey. When we saw the new hive with brood but no honey stores I put another batch of sugar water in top feeder bt this has triggered a return of the robbing with a vengeance from the orginal hive. I put a reducer on new hive entrance but there does not seem to be any significant fighting at entrance of new hive. It appears that the new colony is being overwhelmed with lots of bees going back and forth. Any suggestions on how to help the new swarm hive establish itself and fend off the robbing? Stop feeding and just let nature take its course?? Keep feeding swarm hive? Feed both hives even tho the original hive is filling drawn comb in supers and making honey? Move new hive another 100 feet away? (maximum distance available but would put new hive in front yard;).

any and all suggestions greatly appreciated. PS attached is picture of the swarm that we captured that came from original nuc hive






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Terry Seyden

Offline Kathyp

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Re: swarm hive being robbed by original hive
« Reply #1 on: June 28, 2009, 12:13:45 pm »
you can put an entrance reducer on the hive that is being robbed, but if they are not protecting it, that won't help much.  try feeding away from all hives if you need to feed.  get a poultry waterer and set it up well away from the hives.

be sure to screen the hole on the jar so that bees can not crawl into it when empty.  also put rocks in dish so that bees do not drown.

hopefully this will draw bees away from hives to feed and distract them from robbing.

Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline doak

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Re: swarm hive being robbed by original hive
« Reply #2 on: June 28, 2009, 12:38:53 pm »
First of all I would not use an outside feeder. You can place it at a distance, but it could still enhance a robbing frenzy. I would go with some type of inside feeder, if you do not want to drill a hole in the top cover and use that type of out side feeder. Just don't use small plastic bottles.
I have used pint and quart canning jars. The old 2 liter glass cola abd beer bottles are good, if you can find some.

If you go with the one gal or two gal  bucket. Make sure you fill it as full as possible. Have an extra bucket to hold it over as you invert it to catch the spill. Hold it there till it stops letting the excess off
before putting it in place, you don't want to drown your bees with what you are trying to feed them.
If you have a good strong nectar flow don't even feed.
My put :)doak

Offline terencius

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Re: swarm hive being robbed by original hive
« Reply #3 on: June 28, 2009, 12:52:42 pm »
actually i have been using a specially constructed inside top feeder which has well to hold two gallons and a screened opening from below to let bees come up from hive body to feed; the robbing bees have been going into the entrance and climbing tthrough two hive bodies of drawn comb and brood to get to the sugar water

This morning I tried putting baggies of sugar water i an empty super fram on top of the original hive where the robbing bees are coming from to maybe make them stay at home but so far they prefer to rob the new hive; the top feeder is very efficient design and allows probably several hundred bees to be sipping sugar water at a time whereas the slit baggies on the original hive only accommodate several dozen bees at a time

I was planning to just let nature take its course and have the swarm hive forage fror themselves until i saw yesterday they had ZERO uncapped honey (sugar water) left in the drawn comb that a week ago had been loaded with uncapped honey
Terry Seyden

Offline alfred

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Re: swarm hive being robbed by original hive
« Reply #4 on: June 28, 2009, 10:12:49 pm »
I haven't been feeding my swarm hives sugar syrup, although I thought about it. Instead I have given them frames of honey and nectar from my established hives to get started. I have also given them brood to get going on.

Offline terencius

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Re: swarm hive being robbed by original hive
« Reply #5 on: June 28, 2009, 11:12:31 pm »
that is what my wife suggested;)
do you put the frames of honey right next to the capped brood in the swarm hive?
Terry Seyden

Offline Kathyp

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Re: swarm hive being robbed by original hive
« Reply #6 on: June 28, 2009, 11:44:19 pm »
put it to the outside of the brood.  not all will be capped.  find the outside frame that has eggs, larvae, etc. and put it next  to that.
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline David LaFerney

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Re: swarm hive being robbed by original hive
« Reply #7 on: June 29, 2009, 01:01:40 am »
Maybe you could swap the hive locations and the field bees will give it all back.   ;)

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Offline alfred

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Re: swarm hive being robbed by original hive
« Reply #8 on: June 29, 2009, 11:46:00 am »
Sometimes honey and brood together sometimes apart but always with the brood in the middle of the box.

That's an interesting idea to switch them around... I wonder what would happen? it would certainly confuse them and maybe it would stop the robbing?...