Hive Robbing Screens
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This screened front porch helps protect resident bees from robbers. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
Hive Robbing Screens
Honey bee colonies can have a hard time during the late summer dearth in USDA Hardiness zone 5. Without rain and temperatures over 86F, plants stop making nectar and pollen moving into survival mode. That means honey bees don’t have a food source and often start raiding hummingbird feeders and sometimes other bee colonies.
Since my hives are painted like homes, the homemade robbing screens give my hives the look of front porches but with an important purpose. Robbing screens allow the resident bees to go in and out and keep the unwelcome bees at bay.
The robbing screens keep non-resident bees out. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
When you look at robbing screens from the top you will see a space between the screen and the hive. Resident bees move in and out of the hive through that space, making their way up and down the front of the hive protected by the screen.
I put on robbing screens at night so the early morning foragers have time to get used to the new hive entrance.
Robbing screens sit about half an inch off the hive front so resident bees can move in and out. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
To ensure a snug fit, robbing screens fit into the hive opening again leaving a space so resident bees can easily go in and out of the hive.
Robbing screens fit into the hive opening leaving a space for bees to move in. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
Robber bees tend to fly straight into the hive opening. With the robbing screen on, they may smell honey inside but can’t access it.
Robbing screens are relatively easy to make with scrap wood and some good measurements to allow for the bee space bees need to go in and out.
