It’s the time of year when summer is nearly over, but the fall flow hasn’t started. Colonies are big, there’s lot of foragers, and not much to forage on, yet.

A colony that is ripe for being robbed is usually small, weak, and not able to defend itself. When the beekeeper starts working these colonies, foragers from other nearby colonies may find them, harvest a bit of honey, head home and tell everybody what you just found. “Come on girls, there’s lots of food right over here. Let me waggle you a map!”

The robbed colony of course takes a dim view of all this, lot of fighting breaks out, stinging is everywhere, and you – the beekeeper – have a bad situation getting worse, fast.

Today Jim and Kim talk about late summer robbing…what leads up to, how bad can it get, what can you do to prevent it beforehand, and how to you stop it.

Robbing is a very bad thing. Don’t let it start, and nip it in the bud when it does.

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Thanks to Betterbee for sponsoring today's episode. Betterbee’s mission is to support every beekeeper with excellent customer service, continued education and quality equipment. From their colorful and informative catalog to their support of beekeeper educational activities, including this podcast series, Betterbee truly is Beekeepers Serving Beekeepers. See for yourself at www.betterbee.com

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Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast.

Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott

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