ROBBING. 263 



proper care and attention, such as has heen indicated 

 and directed in this treatise, there is very little dan- 

 ger of loss from this cause. 



HOW TO DETECT ROBBING. 



"When bees get fairly started robbing, there is no 

 mistaking the fact. They will be gathered thick 

 around the hive, seeking an entrance at every crack 

 or joint, and will be seen in considerable quantities 

 in an excited mariner at the first onset, fighting even 

 after the bees of the hive have ceased to make re- 

 sistance. They sometimes engage in combat, as I sup- 

 pose, when bees from other hives make their appear- 

 ance to claim a part of the prey which those first 

 in possession rightly claim as their own. When 

 robbers are carrying off honey, it can be detected by 

 watching those that pass out. If they fly as if heavy 

 laden, you may take it for granted that they are 

 robbing ; but if they leave the hive in a straight line, 

 nimble and light, which they generally do whilst in 

 legitimate pursuits, it is good evidence that all is well. 

 Robbers may be known by their buzzing around in a 

 thieving manner, and peeping in at the cracks of the 

 hive, as if spying out the condition of their neighbors. 



REMEDY. 



When you first discover a propensity to robbing, 

 be careful to clo* up the entrance of all weak stocks, 

 so that not more than one or two bees can pass at 

 one time. If the robbers collect in numbers at any 

 one hive, sprinkle flour over them, aud then watch 



