Bees on the left are my bees and the one on the right is one of the robbing bees.Monday, August 17th 2009
Hive #4 has had a rough time of it. Laying workers, resolved, fourth installed Queen has survived (Queen Makeda). I inspected the hive and found wax moth infestation, which seemed to have happened overnight. I noticed the hive was very active, more so than usual. I was heading to work and didn't do any investigations but I had a gut feeling that something was wrong. When I arrived home, I put on my suit and that's when I found the hive was being robbed by large bees (see photo) and four frames infested with wax moths. I removed the frames, brushed off the bottom board that was covered with moth or beatle larvae. Then I changed the entrance reducer to allow only one to two bees at a time, wetted a sheet and put it over the hive, draping the sheet to almost the ground. Damage control. I will make replacement frames and figure out what to do with the moths and beatles.
My other three hives are at my parent's place and I keep one hive, Hive #4, in my back yard.
