226 FIFTY YEARS AMCXG THE BEES 



SIGNS OF ROBBING. 



One pretty sure sign of robbing, when there is a 

 good deal of stir at the entrance, is to see bees working 

 frantically to force an entrance under the cover or at 

 some other part of the hive. Just why they should do 

 this at times when they seem to have plenty of chance 

 to get in at the regular entrance I do not know — it seems 

 to be a way they have. 



A sure sign of robbing is to find the 1 ees entering 

 the hive with empty sacs and coming out with their sacs 

 full. The contents of the sac can be told by killing the 

 bee, pulling it in two, and squeezing out the contents of 

 the sac. Indeed, the squeezing is hardly needed. 



BEES STICK TO THE SAME ENTRANCE. 



A glance at the hive shown in Fig. 81 would show 

 that it is a case of robbing, for the flying is at an opening 

 never used for an entrance. It is a somewhat curious 

 fact that bees are very persistent in continuing to use 

 the same place for an entrance. 



After the bees have become used to going in and 

 out at the regular place, if I make an opening at the 

 back end of the hive, no matter if it be as large as the 

 front entrance, that back opening will never be used as 

 an entrance. One would think that young bees taking 

 their first play-spell would be as likely to use the back 

 as the front opening, but when I have had ventilating 

 openings at the backs of the hives I do not remember 

 to have seen bees playing at the back. Perhaps the noise 

 of the regular traffic in front attracts them there. 



LOSING THE ROBBERS. 



I make it a rule to stop operations usually when rob- 

 bers are very bad, but sometimes it seems necessary to 

 fight it out. I have sometimes taken advantage of the 

 plan of making cross bees or robbers lose themselves, or 



