Frame Guide › Pests & poisoning
Robbing: what it looks like on the frame
Late August dearth. Bees wrestling on the landing board.
Honey cappings ripped open with ragged, torn edges, and wax crumbs dropped below. A colony eating its own stores uncaps cells neatly as it goes; robbers tear through them in a hurry. Fighting at the entrance during a dearth confirms it.
Shrink the entrance to a bee or two wide and close up
A tiny entrance lets the guards hold the door; a wet sheet or robbing screen over the front helps too. Keep inspections short in a dearth, and never leave comb or spilled syrup out — that's usually what starts it. A colony that's getting robbed is often weak or queenless, so find out why.
Easy to mistake for
- Wax Moth DamageThe outside frames of a colony that's been dwindling for a month.
- Small Hive Beetle Slime-OutHot, humid August. The box smells fermented, like rotting oranges.
Could you spot this with the lid off?
Read the Frame deals you 8 random frames. Say what you see, say what you'd do, and find out why. It's free and runs on your phone.
Drill pests & poisoning → Mixed round (all 32 frames) →More pests & poisoning
- Varroa Mites & Deformed Wing VirusAugust · your alcohol wash came back at 9 mites per 100 bees.
- Wax Moth DamageThe outside frames of a colony that's been dwindling for a month.
- Small Hive Beetle Slime-OutHot, humid August. The box smells fermented, like rotting oranges.
- Bald BroodJune · a good colony, but these lines of open cells caught your eye.
- Pesticide PoisoningA field next door was sprayed in bloom yesterday. Piles of dead bees out front today.
- Healthy Colony, Low Mite CountLate June · an alcohol wash of 300 bees turned up 2 mites.
These frames are drawn to teach the pattern, and real frames vary. From The Alleman Apiary in Middletown, PA.