BEE MANUAL. 253 



had been obtained from a neighbouring cordial factory. Captain 

 Moore informed me that Mr. Koefoed, of tomato sauce fame, 

 told him he lost on one occasion several pounds of tomato sauce 

 that he had forgotten to cover up, thanks to the robber bees. 



" Bobbers" will at this time be found visiting all the hives 

 in the neighbourhood, flying round the covers and joints, trying, 

 like burglars, to effect an entrance without being seen by the 

 inmates. If, in these expeditions, they should come across a 

 weak hive, they are bold enough to go in by the entrance door. 

 If one bee should be fortunate enough to get away with a 

 pilfered load, he will soon be back with some more of his hive 

 companions ; and this will go on systematically until in the 

 end the hive is emptied of its honey, leaving the inmates in a 

 starving condition. In most cases these villains will commit 

 murder ; they will find the queen and kill her, and while the 

 colony is, in consequence, in a demoralised state, " do a good 

 business " in their nefarious practices. They also exert an evil 

 influence over the inmates of the robbed hive ; for these will 

 sometimes join with the robbers, and help to steal their own 

 stores, leaving their old home to take up their quarters with 

 the plunderers. 



HOW TO KNOW ROBBER BEES. 



It is rather difficult at first for the inexperienced to detect 

 robber bees approaching a hive, but by careful observation one 

 may soon become familiar with them. A robber bee, instead 

 of alighting at once at the entrance, will fly and " dodge " 

 about, making now and then a feint to settle ; but should one 

 of the sentinel bees at the entrance approach her, she at once 

 starts back, as it were, out of the sentinel's range. If she finds 

 the entrance too well guarded, she will try to find some other 

 pla.ee to enter, hovering about the sides and back of the hives, 

 and examining the joints of the floor-board, super, and cover, 

 which the proper inhabitants of the hive would not be likely 

 to do. Should there be reason to suspect that robbing has 

 been started in any particular hive — and sometimes it is not 

 easy to detect it at first — watch the bees as they come out of 

 the hive ; and if they appear to be loaded (which can be seen 

 by the increased size of their abdomen), and find it difficult to 

 rise and fly away, you may be certain that they are robbers. 

 To find out which hive — if in your own apiary — the robbers 



