One of my hives robbing the other

[Ronni Kern]

About three weeks ago, I trapped a swarm in one of my 8-frame medium boxes. I have another hive I trapped in two different traps back in March (the two swarms later combined) which on its last inspection this past Thursday had two-full frames of of capped brood and two more frames with capped and uncapped brood, plus at least six frames of honey and nectar. I moved the new swarm in its single 8-frame medium box to the stand beside my original hive on Friday. This morning I noticed a bee flying around in that distinctive spread-leg stance and had a prickle of worry. About an hour ago, I went out to see what was going on and it was clear the new single-box hive was being robbed by its stronger neighbor. By complete luck, I had just received a robbing screen from Brushy Mountain and I pushed it in front of the swarm trap’s opening. Now it is covered with very frustrated and agitated bees as I debate what to do.

The last time I had two hives on this double stand, they were both the same size and tiny. Now I wonder: Will a weak hive and a stronger hive in close proximity always set off robbing? If so, should I leave my weaker hive where it is but with the robbing screen on permanently? Or should I return my new swarm to its original, difficult-to-work location until it has built up more? Thanks.

[Ronni Kern]

Okay, in case any other newbies are facing this issue, this is what I wish I had learned before I put my tiny hive beside my bigger one: any significant disparity in size can trigger robbing of the small, weaker hives by the stronger. Many beekeepers put robbing screens on their nucs and smaller hives as a matter of course. Some keep them on all their hives all the time. Others only do it during dearths. Michael Bush emphasizes that if you see robbing, you have to stop it right away. http://www.bushfarms.com/beesrobbing.htm.

I had worried about my first hive being robbed because at two boxes, it was still relatively small. That’s why I had originally ordered the robbing /moving screen back in April (shipping was delayed for several weeks). It hadn’t occurred to me, those girls would be the bullies. I’m just grateful the screen arrived this week. Almost thirty-six hours after I first noticed them, the robbers are still clustered on the screen and flying about the hive. I feel bad when I see the pollen-laden workers amongst them, still unable to figure out how to get back into their home. The combination of a new hive location and now a new entrance must be confusing; but I have confidence they will figure it out.

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