Robbed bee colonies

The bees fly intensely, they seem to make a picking flight, but looked more closely, it can be seen that they do not belong to the colony;

The bee thieves enter the hive cover, when it was not well fixed, nor the plateau;

There are battles at the warp, the looted colonies appearing, at the warp and around the hive, many dead bees are observed;

Predatory bees lose their hair, they attract attention through the smooth, almost black body;

Stolen bees often destroy the combs and remove the caps from the cells with pollen or honey, the remains are removed by an intense flight and left in the warp or near the hive;

The attacked colonies are active until nightfall. Theft is an instinct that bees have, becoming active in certain situations, most often in conditions of lack of collection.

Information obtained by consulting beekeepers from the Black Sea Basin Beekeepers Network as well as the paper Good practice guide for mountain beekeepers – Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development / National Agency for Mountain Areas

Last updated: 18 - Jan - 2021