Help avoiding robbing out of nucs.

[fatshark]

I created a couple of nucs. yesterday (my first, so be gentle with me) with sealed brood, a good sealed QC, some foundation and a good measure of bees shaken in on top. They are on stands adjacent to the hives they came from. I sealed the entrance with grass and provided a frame feeder of syrup.

I then realised I should have added the syrup after a few days to avoid any flying bees returning to the original hive and then coming back and robbing (just read it in Hooper B&H this evening).

I plan to open the entrances at the w/e. Is there anything I can do further to discourage robbing?

D.

 

[VEG]

If there is robbing going on why open the entrance? Surely it is better to keep it small so it is easier for them to defend.

 

[oliver90owner]

Lilkely some bees will still return to the original position. You may have a robbing problem and may not. Luck of the draw but if it starts......

You could easily solve the problem by moving the nucs (or the large colony!) away by a couple miles or so. Moving nucs should only be done in the last day, or so, of the queen cells hatching (they are fragile) so may not be an ideal option if the weekend is Saturday. Small entrances is a must and fingers crossed.

Regards, RAB

 

[MuswellMetro]

Lilkely some bees will still return to the original position. You may have a robbing problem and may not. Luck of the draw but if it starts......

You could easily solve the problem by moving the nucs (or the large colony!) away by a couple miles or so. Moving nucs should only be done in the last day, or so, of the queen cells hatching (they are fragile) so may not be an ideal option if the weekend is Saturday. Small entrances is a must and fingers crossed.

Regards, RAB

i nail a piece of mouse guard over the entrance hole

 

[mbc]

Youd be unlucky to get robbing this time of year

 

[fatshark]

... should have made this clearer perhaps. The small nuc. entrances are stuffed with grass, but will still be pretty small when opened. However, since they house mostly nurse bees I assume they'll not be great at defending themselves. It's robbing from the neighbouring hives I'm concerned about ... I assume that can happen at any time mbc? Despite the 25 acres of OSR over the hedge ...

Thanks all

D.

 

[Poly Hive]

Me thinks you are fretting over nothing.

It IS better to move new nucs to another site but what you have done should be fine.

Relax and try not to invent problems before they happen...LOL

PH