Robbing video, please review and suggest.

[Steve Johnson]

The story goes like this. After a week of mid 90s heat, I started seeing dead bees around my hives. I never saw them before, my bees were carrying the dead off. I made some robber screen but the bees pile up on them late at night and stay outside the hive. Yes i initially put the screens on at the wrong time, so i took them off and put them on again at night when they were all home. The next day the same thing happened, lots of bees clumping under the bottom boards of the pallet my hives are on and staying outside the hive at night. So today i decided to use vicks vaporub on the bottom board and some on the side of the hives to throw off the robbers after removing the screens. It seemed to be calm through most of the day, but this afternoon it got ugly. Drones were being drug out and buzzing load and flying around the hive. Bees were landing on top of my hives and dying with their end trails hanging out. There were many more of those on the ground as well. I also had entrace reducers there but i scooted one of them back a little becae of the heat today, 109 degrees here, I didnt want to shut the hive up too much.

I feel like im at the end of the line here ive tried everything and am loosing more bees by the day. So i recorded a video and took a small clip from it to see if I can get a "confirmed robbing " from someone. Ive never had even one dead be before on the top of my hives, and today there were 30.

Do bees sting other bees, robbers, drones, when trying to throw them out ?

Thank you for helping.

[Ozarks Honey Company]

Based on what I am seeing, I am going to say "no" to robbing. There doesn't appear to be any fighting at the entrance and even though you have the reducer moved back, it still looks tight enought to me that they could easily guard it.

I am going to say orientation flights and the dead bees are just simply heat exhaustion. Bees die, it's part of the cycle... Figure if the queen is laying 1500-2000 eggs a day, she must be trying to replenish something... I also am not surprised that drones are being drug out of the hive. Don't know how the weather is in TN, but here in MO it has been dry for several weeks. Which means, no honey flow, and no honey flow means drones go bye, bye... your eating my supply.

[TxFirefighter]

I agree with Ozarks. Doesn't appear to me to be robbing. No fighting is taking place. Looks like normal hive activity to me. Looks as though you changed the way they enter the hive and the foragers are having a hard time trying to figure out how to get back in.
If you truely believe it is robbing and want to stop it, put on a reducer to only allow 1 bee at a time in...the guard bees can protect that entrance easier. The foragers will figure it out eventually.

[Keth Comollo]

Doesnt look like robbing to me. Open those entrances up and let them bring in honey!!!

[tommyt]

Do bees sting other bees, robbers, drones, when trying to throw them out ? Yes they do

I see no Fighting
You maybe messing them up by putting the robber screens on and off
Each time you do you change there navigation
I also see the top open If there was robbing they would be all over it

[BoiseBeekeeper]

Looks like my hives every day around 4-5PM.

[Steve Johnson]

Okay, I guess its not. Im glad, very glad its not. I guess I just dont understand bee behavior that much yet. I know things are not always black and white.

What could be the cause of all the bees landing on top of the hives and dying after stinging something. What are they stinging ? In 2.5 months there has never been one dead bee on the top of my hives and today they were falling out of the sky like crazy. Just so weird.....

[BoiseBeekeeper]

What could be the cause of all the bees landing on top of the hives and dying after stinging something.

Are their stingers gone? I was guessing the metal was very hot and they expired upon landing there. I have not seen that before either (but I am a newbee).