3.0 PRACTICE OF BEEKEEPING
The candidate will be:
3.12 aware of the dangers of robbing and how it can be avoided;
NOTES
Bees will readily rob other colonies of their food stores if they are able to gain access. Once robbing has started, bees can mercilessly destroy infiltrated colonies.
A small, weak colony near a much stronger colony may come under attack. Weight of numbers can overpower the guards in the weaker colony. The beekeeper can help the smaller colony by reducing the entrance to a single bee space to help the guards defend it.
If robbing persists in an apiary then probably the only solution is to move the hive under attack.
Easy meals of spilled syrup or combs of honey left in the open in an apiary can trigger robbing behaviour, especially later in the year where natural forage is reducing.