Robbing is a term used in

beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture, from ) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in artificial beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most commonly kept species but other honey producing bees such as '' Melipona'' stingless bees are ...

. Bees from one

beehive A beehive is an enclosed structure which houses honey bees, subgenus '' Apis.'' Honey bees live in the beehive, raising their young and producing honey as part of their seasonal cycle. Though the word ''beehive'' is used to describe the nest of ...

will try to rob honey from another hive.

Occurrence

Robbing behavior is especially strong when there is little nectar in the field. Strong colonies with the largest stores are the most apt to prey upon weaker colonies. Some robbing is carried out so secretly that it escapes notice. Most of the time, when robbing is going on, one can see bees from the opposing hives fight. The fights can lead to significant losses of bees. Robbing may go on between hives in one

apiary An apiary (also known as a bee yard) is a location where Beehive (beekeeping), beehives of honey bees are kept. Apiaries come in many sizes and can be rural or urban depending on the honey production operation. Furthermore, an apiary may refer to ...

or hives of different apiaries. Among the races of the

Western honeybee The western honey bee or European honey bee (''Apis mellifera'') is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bees worldwide. The genus name ''Apis'' is Latin for 'bee', and ''mellifera'' is the Latin for 'honey-bearing' or 'honey-carrying', ...

, the

Italian bee The Italian bee or Italian Honey bee (''Apis mellifera ligustica'') is a subspecies of the western honey bee (''Apis mellifera''). Origin The Italian honey bee is endemic to the continental part of Italy, south of the Alps, and north of Sicily, ...

has been identified with an especially strong tendency to rob.

Defence measures

Robbing can be prevented by reducing the entrances of the hive so the attacked hive has a better chance of defending itself. Bees are immediately attracted when a hive is opened and

honey super A honey super is a part of a commercial or other human-managed beehive that is used to collect honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stor ...

s are removed.

Alternative Terminology

In the US South, 'robbing' is an archaic term for removing honey. Beekeepers do not actually "rob" bees in modern times, but "harvest a surplus." Some historical methods of bee "keeping" actually were bee "robbing" in that hives were killed for harvest. As recently as the 1940s Southern beekeepers would "sulphur" hives to take honey. This killed the hives and required bee "keepers" to catch spring swarms to replenish their livestock. In some extreme latitudes bees are still killed at the end of the season to take all their honey, then bees are imported from lower latitudes (or even the opposite hemisphere) to begin the next season, but this practice is also dying out, mostly due to expense and movement restrictions.

References

Western honey bee behavior {{Apidae-stub