A robbing attack!!!

[mlewis48]

Today, I started sugar dusting my hives that are at my home yard, what a mistake!!!!! My house sets about 75 yards from the woods and when the sweet smell of sugar hit the air the attacks started. I only have 10 hives in this location, most of which are nucs or removals that I did this year. Kind of a nursery. When I made it to the end of the hives I noticed a large amount of bees trying to get into one of my hives and the fight was on. I went and got ruducers and put them on all of the hives to give them a chance. Have any of you had this experiance while doing this? In this yard, there are 2 large hives and they were going after them as well. I am going to hit the woods tomorrow to see if I find out where they are coming from. There is no one around me with in 5 miles that have bees so there has to be a large bee tree back there. I want to try this method more but if this is the end result, forget it!
Thanks,
Marc

[Tom G. Laury]

As the sun drops in the fall the bees get cranky.

[JoeMcc]

I noticed the porch of my hives are loaded with bees in the fall. Nothing gets by unnoticed. They have been battling each other the last couple weeks. I did put reducers on to limit the attacks but they are still VERY on guard.

JoeMcc

[broev]

I sugar dusted my one colony last weekend, and had the same thing happen. When I had the hive re-assembled, I noticed extensive fighting. I have a bee tree about 50 yds. from my colony, so I walked over to observe them. There was fighting there also. I reduced my entrance and all was well by morning. I will continue dusting, but I'll reduce my entrance immediately. There may be a better time of day or weather condition that is less conducive to robbing, but I'm not experienced enough to know.

[mlewis48]

I also would like to know when is a better time to do this. I like the concept of dusting versus using the chemicals. But if this is what I have to go through everytime that I do this I might wait until it gets a little cooler. The down side of that is dealing with a bunch of pissed off bees. One way or the other I will get er done!

[tonyp]

I dust the hives in my back yard just before dark. By then about all of the field bees are back in the hive and they get dusted too.

[BjornBee]

The whole dusting process should not take that long. Maybe your opening them too long at this time of the year?

Are you sure there are not from your yard?

[mlewis48]

I did not have the hive open all that long, long enough to dust and go, no more than 45 seconds each. I never had this problem last year. I walked back into the woods, today, and found the trouble makers. they are in a big ash tree. I will wait untill Spring and if they are still there, they will have a nice new home in one of my out yards. THey should be healthy and have plenty of stores because I tried open feeding, for a short while, had to stop because they were taking 5 gallons in a little over an hour. I didn't think that ones in my yard could take that much, that soon. I could be wrong but with the size of this gum, I would say that they got their share. I will wait till late in the evening to try round 2.

[Carl F]

they were taking 5 gallons in a little over an hour.

That must have been a sight to see!!! It seems to me that the number of bees it would take to move 5 gallons of feed in an hour would block out the sun...

[Oldbee]

"I want to try this method more but if this is the end result, forget it".-mlewis48.

Maybe it's just because of the 'time of year'; TOO late in the early fall?-- Sept. 30th.

I was out to my bees today and noticed a lot of yellow jackets trying to 'get in' the hives and around the feeders; bees also. It got up to only about 60*F. I know you are trying to knock down the mites before winter but at this time of year maybe it's just too late for sugar dusting. Although dusting toward sundown may be advantageous.

[Dr.Wax]

I think you have the right idea with open feeding. If you are going to dust start open feeding an hour or so beforehand. Place the feeder so the feral bees won't cross the path of your hives.

[Bee_Sweet]

I too am having a problem with my hives this year. Just last week I gave Tara patties & started feeding 2:1 sugar water with Fumidil B. I noticed a cpl days ago it looked like one of the hives was getting robbed, so I added entrance reducers (4" opening) to both hives. Man, they went crazy! :scratch: I mean they hated the reducers and covered the whole landing board running around all pissed off! Today both hives are fighting like mad. They are about 5 feet apart & both are getting the same treatment of sugar water and such.

Both have a great laying Queen, plenty of brood and stores. Why would they continue to fight eachother?
What is the deal :s???

[vajerzy]

A similar story:

I bought 2 hives from a friend and placed them in the middle of my existing 3 hives. On Sat I tore these new ones downto put on screened bottom boards and dusted each box. Took about 1/2 hour for both. Well that started it- the dusted ones were being attacked and it spread to 2 others- I reduced the entrances to the small opening. On Sunday it seemed the same so I plugged the openings of every hive with screen. Bees all trying to get in- what a mess. I didn't come back home until dusk- I expected to see bees clinging to the entrance- well there were little to none.....that was odd. I took the screen out- bees pouring out of 3 of the hives. This morning I plugged the openings with grass and went to work; came home at 5:00P and all were open and looking agitated. My guess is the robbers are other hives about a mile from me.

My hives were light to begin with and I'm afraid they may not have enough food for the winter. I'm going to feed all of them- 3 with top feeders- 2 with boardman feeders- that's all I have.

Good to know there are others having this situation.