Why is this hive always being robbed?

[bpmurray]

One of my hives has been attacked again and again through the year - the latest is just today - I've closed down the entrance and they're very wary, challenging everything that arrives. Now that the ivy has started, they're starting to have to queue up to get in, so it's not a great solution. You can see them here and it seems they're over-enthusiastic about policing or there are still robbers trying their luck.

 

[snelgrove]

One of my hives has been attacked again and again through the year - the latest is just today - I've closed down the entrance and they're very wary, challenging everything that arrives. Now that the ivy has started, they're starting to have to queue up to get in, so it's not a great solution. You can see them here and it seems they're over-enthusiastic about policing or there are still robbers trying their luck.

hives are on edge this time of year the least bit of split sugar syrup honey exposed combs can start robbing in seconds. keep entrances reduced to one bee way if robbing starts don't worry bout bees queuing, they will be fine. silent robbing can occur and this is much more difficult to stop.

 

[beeno]

Hi Guys,
Very bad wasp year here too. One of my colonies down to one bee space. All defending well though with up to 30 guard bees on one buzzing as a bee lands. Hoovered up 2,000+ so far. Was hoping that the Ivy flow was going to get rid of some of the wasps, but maybe that is wishful thinking.

 

[Millet]

Hi Guys,
Very bad wasp year here too. One of my colonies down to one bee space. All defending well though with up to 30 guard bees on one buzzing as a bee lands. Hoovered up 2,000+ so far. Was hoping that the Ivy flow was going to get rid of some of the wasps, but maybe that is wishful thinking.

I must have wiped several colonies of wasp's out upto now as I have caught thousand's in my lager trap's.. there's still a few about but not many I have done away with the lager trap's as i'm sick of catching big mothes and the wasp bane trap has only caught around a dozen wasp's.. here is hoping I have wiped them out for now..

 

[snelgrove]

I used jam jar wasp traps last year and caught hundreds, however I read on the forum that putting traps out merely attract wasps to the apiary, this year I havnt put traps out. Wasps ain't been a problem for me.

 

[Millet]

I only started trapping them because they where already a problem and once I seen the first one gain access to the hive I give them hell..

 

[B3njy]

I used glue trap strips designed to catch mice! I caught hundreds every few days and eventually seemed to stop the attacks.

Will be putting them out early spring next year in the hope of catching the wasp queens

 

[sipa]

Will be putting them out early spring next year in the hope of catching the wasp queens

This is good practice, we do it every year and without fail catch many, many queens. does seem to reduce the wasp problem significantly.

Also catch hornet queens early too.

 

[Thymallus]

Not really good practice. Wasps and hornets perform valuable roles in pest control and pollination, even responsible for overwintering yeast!. It's only this part of the season when they become a nuisance.
Leave the queens alone!

 

[sipa]

Drop me your address, I'll catch'em and send them along to you.

That seems like a win win situation.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I used glue trap strips designed to catch mice!

I tried that in the first year of beekeeping before I realised the importance of strong colonies.
I caught a blue tit which died horribly

 

[Millet]

Not really good practice. Wasps and hornets perform valuable roles in pest control and pollination, even responsible for overwintering yeast!. It's only this part of the season when they become a nuisance.
Leave the queens alone!

I 100% agree with you and anyone killing wasp's during spring don't deserve to keep bee's.. don't get me wrong i'm ruthless when a pest species need controlling no matter what it is but wasp's are harmless to a hive when rearing larvae/brood .. why anyone would want to kill the queen wasp's during spring is beyond me.. the Eco system is already going to pot with other folk meddling in other area's.. leave well alone unless you definitely know you have a problem..

 

[Thymallus]

Thanks to Karol I've learnt a lot about wasps and their behavior. Makes them almost as fascinating as bees. I was intrigued by their pheromone marking of food sites and put this to use with a small nuc that was constantly being attacked by wasps. I'd moved it three times to different apairies to try and get it out of the way of them, to no avail. It dawned on me that it was marked in some way when I brought them home locked in and wasps were around the nuc in minutes of em moving out of the car. I transferred the bees into a "fresh" nuc. To date, end of wasp problem as they haven't (yet) relocated them.
Simple really...all thanks to knowing a bit more about them.