KOBBING. 117 



opinion that robbers often go to a neighboring hive, kill 

 off the bees first, and then take possession of the spoils. I 

 have never yet discovered one fact to corroborate this, 

 although I have watched very closely. Whenever bees- 

 have lost all their stores, at a period when nothing was to 

 be obtained from flowers, it is evident that they must 

 soon starve, and disappear in a few days. This would 

 naturally give rise to the supposition that they had been 

 killed by the robbers. 



FIRST INDICATION. 



I will now describe the appearance of a weak hive that 

 is being robbed, and show, that without timely interfer- 

 ence, the result will be a total loss to the colony. Each 

 robber, when leaving the hive, instead of flying in a direct 

 line to its home, will turn its head towards the hive to 

 mark the spot, that it may return for another load, in the 

 same manner that they do when leaving their own hive for 

 the first time in the spring. The first time the young 

 bees leave home, they mark their location by the same 

 process. A few of these begin to hatch very early, in all 

 good stocks, often before the weather is warm enough for 

 any to leave the hive. These young bees will fly out very 

 thickly about the middle of each fair day, or a little later, 

 called " playing," by some writers. This unusual activity 

 strongly resembles the bustle of robbers, and it is difficult 

 to detect the difference. Their motions are alike, but 

 there is a little difference in color, the young bees being a 

 shade lighter; and the abdomen of the robbers, when 

 filled with honey, is a little larger. But while you are 

 learning these nice distinctions, your bees may be ruined. 

 I wiU therefore give additional means of ascertaining. 

 Bees, when they have been stealing a sack of honey from 

 a neighboring hive, will generally run several inches from 

 the entrance before flying ; kill some of these ; if filled 



