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  • From: Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com>
  • To: Hamsiba Family <hamsibas AT gmail.com>
  • Cc: ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] How busy is too busy at the door?
  • Date: Tue, 21 May 2013 18:32:07 -0400

Brad,

Re: "Can I hurt things by leaving the reducer at 'small'?" No, don't worry about it. A few bees having to wait in line to get in/out isn't a problem. If you had dozens or hundreds piled up at the door, you'd have an efficiency issue, but that won't happen until later.

Re: "How do I tell the difference between a busy afternoon of deliveries and the neighbors doing take-out?" What you've described sounds like happy bees. Robbers don't bring in pollen.
I look for bees fighting on the bottom board or in the grass in front of the hive, although once a hive has been overrun & demoralized you won't see fighting.
I stand to the side of the hive near the entrance to see if the bees are in a stingy mood; that's a good sign that robbing is going on. Happy bees will ignore you.
I stand behind the hive so I can watch the flight path of the bees as they come and go. If Hive A is robbing Hive B, from this vantage point you can see the bees flying from one hive to the other.
After a full-out robbing episode has run its course, you'll see chewed up, almost dusty bits of wax on the bottom board or beneath the hive. The edges of the cells will be all raggedy, like a bee-sized biker gang has come in and trashed the place looking for anything of value.

Randall Austin


On 5/21/2013 4:44 PM, Hamsiba Family wrote:
CA+x3aG6S-mXWeR88F+a8Hxr9Z1fcqOZUj4f1ECoiN93JkxX1tA AT mail.gmail.com" type="cite">
So, now that we have had our first two packages for almost 2 weeks, we have bonded with them and are feeling very protective.  How can I distinguish a busy hive from a hive under attack from robbers? 
 
Usually during busy parts of the day I see 1-2 dozen bees bobbing around in front seeming to be angling for a landing site and another dozen on the porch.  A few days ago it seemed a little more chaotic (though also warmer) than usual and I reduced the entrance reducer from the wider slot to the small slot being worried about hungry neighbors.  Now that small opening is a very busy place, but they are still two small packages trying to get their first brood going. (will not inspect frames for first look til later this weekend). 
 
- Can I hurt things by leaving the reducer at "small"?  (bottoms are wire, so heat is not an issue)  
- How do I tell the difference between a busy afternoon of deliveries and the neighbors doing take-out?  I have scanned my notes from class, and I can't really make a good call here.
 
Yes some are crawling up the front and some fly off from there.  Many of those are just unhappy the top entrance is closed at the moment.  Still can't see a real difference between "heavy" arrivals and Iighter ones.  Lots of pollen coming in.  Guidance?
 
Thanks,
 
Brad Kosiba


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