Robber Screens Long Term

[spc]

We had a hive that was going great guns and then on Monday it swarmed. We know a few of the reasons it swarmed and have learned our lessons but the rainy weather was probably a big factor. The swarm is about 60' up in a tree, totally inaccessible, just hanging out in the rain. We'd love to get it back, but there really is no way for us to get it.

And thank you to the firearms proponents, but no thanks. We'd have to shoot off an 8" thick oak branch and the neighbors might take a dim view of the operation.

Because it is such a large swarm and they have only the honey that they took before they left the hive, do you think that they will decide to rob the three hives in our yard? The swarm will be starving pretty soon and they were really nasty aggressive bees.

I made robbing screens today but I don't know how advisable it is to install them and just leave them on for the rest of the summer. Does anyone have a reason either for or against long term placement?

[peletier]

Long term use would not seem to me to be a problem. In fact, I have considered building hives with a built-in permanent "robbing screen" at the hive entrance. The hive residents come and go but the robbers just can't figure it out.

[Tillie]

I had a bad robbing incident at one hive about a month or so ago and haven't removed the robber screen - the bees who live there seem fine and the robbing stopped immediately upon the addition of the screen.

This weekend I am combining the robbed hive with another robbed hive that absconded and I recaptured them. I plan to leave the robber screen on the new hive as well.

Linda T in Atlanta

[spc]

Thank you, with that rogue swarm out there and both of us working, it seemed to make good sense.

[Ravenseye]

They make robber screens having a number of entrances fitted with swinging "gates". The ones I have use two entrances across the bottom and one at the top. Each entrance has a small metal piece that can be opened or closed. You can close the top and open one or both of the bottoms and the robber screen acts like a normal entrance. Closing the bottoms and opening the top allows the robber screen to work like.....well...a robber screen. I got them at Brushy Mountain....here:

http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/prodinfo.asp?number=517