1900 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



143 



CONTROLLING ROBBERS. 



THIS is a question in which some of 

 our recent correspondents are in- 

 terested. As tlie season has now 

 arrived, or is fast approaching, when 

 trouble from robbers is most lilvely to 

 occur, it may not be amiss to offer a few 

 suggestions along this line. 



Colonies of bees in good working con- 

 dition are not ordinarily attacked by 

 robbers; and if it should occur, no un- 

 easiness need be felt for their ability to 

 protect themselves. Such a condition 



By far the better way of dealing with 

 robbers is to carefully guard against the 

 beginning of their work. Should it be 

 necessary to manipulate a colony at a 

 time when robbers are troublesome, it is 

 an excellent precaution to perform the 

 work under a hive-tent. If convenient 

 to do so, the chances of an attack will 

 be further reduced by doing the work in 

 the evening. Great care should be ex- 

 ercised that no particle of honey is left 

 daubed about or upon the hive or the 

 robbers will most likely have cleaned the 

 hive of all honey, both inside and out, 



A BAD CASK OF ROBBING. 



would result only when, through care- 

 lessness or accident, the bees of the 

 same or adjacent apiaries had been tho- 

 roughly aroused to it. Nothing more 

 eflfctually incites wholesale robbing than 

 to expose honey during a dearth from 

 natural sources. When once this has 

 been done, the persistence of the 

 stronger to prey upon the weaker colo- 

 nies is as remarkable as it is annoying 

 to the apiarist. 



ere the bee-keeper has breakfasted. 



When the honey-tiow has ceased we 

 consider it a good plan to allow the 

 grass and weeds to grow up about the 

 hives. This is rather unsightly to the 

 bee-keeper of tidy habits, but we be- 

 lieve it serves a useful purpose, espe- 

 cially in the case of nuclei. 



When bees are in a robbing mood any 

 changes in the general appearance of 

 the apiary, by re-arrangement, removal, 



