More mysteries to me - empty frames

[honeydog]

Nope- I took them both off since there wasn't going to be any honey.

[honeydog]

Hi, All,

Thank you again for all the help. I did a deeper inspection today. There is definitely robbing going on (or attempts at least). I saw bees fighting in the grass this afternoon. I went to take a picture of this for my boyfriend who was shocked by the idea of bee fights. When I came back out, there was a giant carpenter bee trying to get in there. Attached are a few photos. Watching my bees fend it off was truly an amazing thing to see.

In any case, I have on entrance reducers since a couple days ago. I see that they are storing what I'm feeding them, but there are not many stores in there. Hopefully I will be able to give them enough to feed them.

Thanks!
Jen

(click for big versions)

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[JRG13]

I wouldn't say you have robbing per se, but with the entrance feeder you will have other bees coming to feed and that's probably what the fighting is about. Poor carpenter bee was probably like look at this nice wood, I just wanna bore a few holes in it..... Looks like you have nice pollen coming in at least too. Good luck with it.

[Lburou]

...snip...Based on the harsh private messages I've received in response to this post ("you seem clueless as to basic beekeeping biology and what is expected in a typical bee year in terms of basic management tasks" - ouch), it doesn't seem like this is the place to look for help, either...snip...

Four things honeydog:

• With regard to the bullying private message, go to that member's profile and add them to your 'ignore list'. You don't have to put up with that foolishness.
• Feed your bees.
• Get smart about your bees. My two favorite sites aside from this forum are here and here.
• Find a mentor at a local bee club, or here on this forum if you can't find what you need locally.

The two sites above differ somewhat in their approach, but they both have solid advice.

Good luck

Added: I do not recommend the boardman feeder for anything except water on a very hot day!!!!....It encourages robbing. The two links above give good background on feeding.

You really need an experienced eye at this point to determine whether you have a queen and brood or not. That is the biggest issue. Without a queen and brood the colony is doomed.

[WesternWilson]

A hive in my area had AFB last year and I was wary of encouraging other bees to come visit my hive and food sources, so when I put my package in the hive this spring, I put an empty super on top, put the feeder in there (the top inner cover had a hole in it so bees could visit the feeder from inside the hive), and then put the hive cover on top of that. A secure feeding station that only my hive bees knew about.

[psfred]

Buy a hive top feeder from Kelley Bees, you will never get enough stores in there with a Boardman entrance feeder, they just cannot get it out fast enough.

The Kelley feeder holds 4 gallons, and several thousand bees can get up there at once, if you put one on and fill it will 2:1 syrup I bet the bees will suck down at least a gallon a day and store most of it as honey.

You have lots of pollen going in and that's good, but you really need a hivetop feeder to get them ready for winter, they need at least 4 gallons of 2:1, and more if they will take it. Probably 20 lbs of sugar twice should get you in good shape.

Peter

[honeydog]

I have a hive top feeder in addition to the entrance feeder. Bought 30 pounds of sugar this morning to make 2:1 syeyp for my 2 hives so hopefully that will get them a good start on creating winter stores.

[Lburou]

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