So I've started making a few splits and have these really weak nucs in my backyard near the hives I split them from. I started my splits on 3/28-4/4. Our nectar flow is just beginning with pears, maple, deadnettle, henbit. When I returned from work today there was a load of activity at my nucs and it wasn't good. The entrances were reduced using the typical reducer which comes with the 5 frame nucs, but that really did not appear to be enough. I shoved grass and sticks in the entrances to reduce it to the smallest opening possible and still allow 1 bee to pass. I am not feeding. Each Nuc has at least a frame or two of nectar/honey/pollen. They are getting decimated! I did two different kinds of splits. Some I pulled the queen/brood/food and others I pulled eggs/brood/food. They all got at least 2 extra frame shakes of bees that were on the brood frames. The populations are really decreasing due to the fighting. I expected to lose some foragers heading back to the main hive, but I believe this robbing has caused a major population drop. What else can I do to save these nucs? Add capped brood from other hives to increase the population more quickly? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks! BTW- we have plenty of flying drones and loads of capped drones here.
Combining Nuc with Production Yard while combating robbing??
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Robber screens.
Splits in the same yard with no flow have been as you describe for me. With a flow it works, sort of, unless the flow slows down. Yes many do it without trouble.
Picture yourself as part of that new nuc; This morning I am part of one hive taking the load from a forager, this afternoon I am part of a different hive and I can't let the same bee in? Still smells the same. Smell right and you have the keys to the castle. We should give them new tee shirts so they know they have been traded.
I think guards only fight with the totally different bees and let their true sisters walk in and out for at least a week. Slow to stop them even after that. Sometimes wonder how many trips the same honey makes back and forth between the nuc and parent hive.
Picture yourself as part of that new nuc; This morning I am part of one hive taking the load from a forager, this afternoon I am part of a different hive and I can't let the same bee in? Still smells the same. Smell right and you have the keys to the castle. We should give them new tee shirts so they know they have been traded.
I think guards only fight with the totally different bees and let their true sisters walk in and out for at least a week. Slow to stop them even after that. Sometimes wonder how many trips the same honey makes back and forth between the nuc and parent hive.
Makes sense. Last Spring I had no noticeable problems with splits and robbing, so this is new to me. Saltybee - thanks for the input. I'll try to make up some robber screens also to put over those reduced entrances and cross my fingers. Moving nucs and/or hives is not an option at this time. Thanks for the replies.
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Next year wait another 4 weeks in this area if your going to split early season. Then the flow is much stronger and robbing less a problem. The robber screens are good insurance also.
The simplest robber screen is just to reduce the entrance with screen instead of wood. It confuses the robbers quite a bit. Make the entrance just one or two bees wide (1/4" to 1/2"). You are trying to make the pass at Thermopylae "where numbers count for nothing".
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