114 
course it will break up the robbery in short order, if 
discovered soon after its commencement. 
But should the robbery get full under way before 
being discovered then there is no other alternative but 
to capture the robbers. 
HOW TO CAPTURE ROBBER BEES. 
Should the colony being robbed be a small one, and 
not able to protect themselves with the help of the 
regulator, the hive may be closed up entirely at the 
entrance, by opening all the ventilators, leaving it on 
the stand until evening, providing the weather be cool ; 
remembering to open the regulator about sundown, and 
let the robbers you shut in go home, which they will 
readily do. Then remove the boxes and put the pre- 
server on, and carry the hive into the cellar ; after they 
become quiet the cap may be placed on again. A 
decoy hive, looking like the one being robbed, must 
now be placed on the stand where that stood. A bee- 
catcher, placed in the entrance with the regulator, so 
adjusted that no bees can pass out and in, except 
through the bee-catcher ; a frame or two, containing 
comb and honey, should be put in at the commence- 
ment, for the robbers to cluster on as they enter the 
hive. Early the next morning the robbers are sure to 
come ; and expecting to find honey where they found it 
the day before, they rush in through the bee-catcher 
and are prisoners. In a few hours you will have them 
all in your hive. You can now destroy them, or have 
them work for you ever after, the same as your own 
bees, by keeping them in the cellar one week and sup- 
plying them with a queen. Should the swarm be a 
large one, the above method would not be considered 
