I have an older friend who isn't able to get online that I'd like to ask a question for. He has 3 hives and lately has been having aggressive bees coming around the house for about 2 weeks now. We requeened 2 of the hives, the most suspicious to be aggressive (although none really seemed aggressive during inspections) 2 days ago. We also cut back the entrances to address any robbing going on. How long should it take to cool the hives down, or is there anything we can do to determine which hive is the likely aggressor? Thanks in advance for any input!
Aggressive
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The queens have the candy plugs in them, well they did on Thursday when I put them in, so I'm assuming they have not been released. I've been looking for evidence of a skunk and haven't found any. I've been working with my friend on resolving this, so I'm hoping for asap, we have an electric fence around them for animals. One interesting observation was that in 1 hive all of the bees were bunched up (like a crowded brood chamber) in the bottom deep while the 2nd deep was 50% full and super was empty of bees and honey. The hive next to them has 2 full supers of nectar and honey. Is this a sign of robbing? I didn't see a whole lot of dead bees on the ground, or a real hassle at the entrance of any hives but am wondering if that could be going on? No feeding going on at all, we'd just like this to calm down as quickly as possible.
My bee didn't completely settle down until the queens were released and laying. This may be the case with your friend's bees. You could have a few robbers going in. I cracked open one hive the other day and the bees had a worker balled. I discovered it was a worker, because I made them move thinking they were balling a queen. So, there was robbing going on in that hive, but by just a few bees. Give them a couple of day to release the queens. Are they still looking for trouble since you've installed the queens or have they calmed down a little?
They still seem to be looking for trouble. It seems to always be later in the afternoon 3-4pm, and the queens didn't seem to make much of a difference, although I know it's early and they probably aren't released yet. I was wondering if there was a way to determine exactly what hive it is, all 3 have pretty much the same temperment. Is there a way of screening them in for a day without suffocating them, or other way to determine exactly which hive? I hate to screw around with hives that have nothing to do with the issue.
We didn't requeen the third because it is a much smaller hive and the bees do seem much more docile (this hive is the one that might be getting robbed)I've been told everything from instantly to 6 weeks for them to cool down. I'm just trying to find ways to A) identify which hive is the trouble maker and B) get them cooled down asap. Thank you all for your helpful replies!
Too bad he doesn't have someplace he can put them intuil the new brood emerges. Is there someone he knows that has some land he can use for a couple of months?
If nothing else, he can try to split the strongest hives. The idea is to get them to protect the hive entrance and not go looking for a fight.
If nothing else, he can try to split the strongest hives. The idea is to get them to protect the hive entrance and not go looking for a fight.
If the aggressiveness is displayed every day then since you seem to be desperate for solutions - maybe screen off the entrance one hive at a time until you see which one it is. I mean it won't kill the bees not to get out for a day or two. Just as long as they have good air, water and store.
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