When we visited our Shakopee apiary yesterday,
something sounded and looked strange to us. At the
Carniolan's hive, the bees seemed very busy and
agitated...almost erratic!
Well they were! At a closer look, we saw 2 different
type of bees fussing around. One was golden, like our Italians
and they other was clearly darker, just like our Carniolans.
However, they were together, clustered and annoyed
by something. Ben and I spent a long time watching
the bees and their bizarre behavior. Suddenly, we
noticed that they were all gathered at one corner
of the Carniolan's beehive, where we detected a leak. The
syrup from the plastic bucket had been dripping a little,
and the wood had been soaking up the liquid like a sponge
attracting "other" honey bees. It was obvious that the robbers
were the bees next door! The Italians. They were robbing
the weak and less populous Eastern European bees. They were
frantic, and fighting 5 to one, pulling legs, pushing and killing.
The Mafia had entered the Eastern block... war was declared.
We had to think fast before the hive would be completely
conquerors: We needed to barricade, to build a moat, to... in
order to prevent the brutal assault. Plugging all circled
entrances with cork, was our first instinct, keeping
the enemies outside. The bottom entrance had been
already reduced to 3", and a mesh screen had been
placed in front of it to deter mice.
Karine and Ben devising a plan!
We left that ongoing carnage, a little relived. But would the
Carniolans' guard honey bees strong enough to hold the fort
preventing the Italians to steal their hard earned honey? Would
they be able to sustain the violent assault ? We sure hope so. After
all we had "nursed" that hive, after many set backs from spring to fall,
to a level that I felt had a good chance to endure the winter just fine.
What else could we have done to help them? We had to regroup
and think about a good strategy!
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