Still some honey thieves are undeterred.
Lately I’ve noticed many yellow jackets, ants, bumble bees and flies attracted to my hive. Some meddlers are even brave enough to crawl around the outside of the boxes until the bees chase them away. These prowlers may be looking for a way to get inside, unnoticed. They won’t find one. The entrances are well protected.
I’m still on the lookout for active evidence of robbing, but I’m not too worried since the bees are able to fend off the trespassers thus far. I’ve seen a few of the intruders dead on the ground in front of the entrance, a failed infiltration attempt is probably what killed them. During my last inspection, I even found a bumble bee dead inside my hive. I suspect it was the same one who was bothering me during my inspection on July 15th.
I find it interesting that despite their size, even the world’s largest honey bees have problems with robbers. Honey is in such high demand. It’s an insect version of gold, attracting criminals of all species, willing to be injured and even die, just to get a little taste. Even beekeepers must be included in that category, I’m just glad we don’t have to suffer the same fate as the others to get our liquid gold.