ROBBER BEES 



others. At nightfall the cleaned-out hive can 

 be examined, and if the queen is uninjured, 

 and a fair amount of bees present, its entrance 

 can be contracted so that only a bee or two can 

 pass out at a time, and in a couple of days it 

 can be built up with bees and sealed brood 

 from strong colonies and no serious damage 

 will have resulted. 



A plain pane of glass laid in a slanting posi- 

 tion in front of a hive that is being robbed 

 will so confuse the robbers that they will give 

 up in despair, but the kerosene, squirted on 

 the front of the hive or on some brush or dried 

 grass thrown in front of the hive entrance, 

 is the best thing of which I know, and again 

 and again I have nipped in the bud what 

 promised to develop into a first-class case of 

 embezzlement. Turpentine, or a weak solu- 

 tion of carbolic acid water, will work equally 

 as well, and, when the robbed colony have a 

 chance to rest over night, and recover from 

 their panic, it is astonishing what a fight they 

 will be prepared to put up the following day. 



265 



