Robbers

I went out this morning to get the empty bottom board feeder's jar, to put more sugar water in it. I grabbed it before any activity began so I could give them something nice to eat when they woke up. I went back out after awhile to look at what was happening and I came upon world war bee. It was horrible. Each hive had so much activity at the entrance that included wasps and very dark bees. I have Italian bees which are nice and light, very pretty. These bees they were fighting ranged from dark stripes to shiny black. They were scary, and what was worse is they were wrestling with my beautiful little honey bees. The wasps were easy for me to extinguish with my hive tool, the dark bees were not. Not sure what was really going on, I called my bee mentor for advice. She told me I needed to take out the sugar water that was attracting robbers, as well as make the entrance tiny so the bees have a smaller space to protect. The lack of nectar this summer has all these feral bees and other flying sugar eaters looking for food. Since I fed my bees all summer they have honey stores, where other hives don't. The problem is these honey stores smell delicious and has left my girls fighting for what they worked so hard for, and left me helpless as I watch them wrestle these unwelcome guests. All I wanted to do was pick those dark bees off, one by one from my girls, I was so close to tears watching them fight. So, I put on my gear and headed out to get into the trenches. I moved the feeder to the edge of the entrance and shoved wood into the rest of the space except for a small space for my girls to go through. I just stood there watching them and stressing, it took all my strength to peel myself away from the carnage taking place before my eyes and go inside to let nature take over. I did what I could do to help, I needed to leave. I went back out after dark to look at what was happening. There were moths hanging around that I quickly killed with my electric wand and of course some lethargic slow moving bees. Tomorrow will be interesting. I hope my bees are strong and are able to kick butt!