Robbing: an inside job?

[yes2matt]

What I have here is two Bushkill plywood nuc boxes, I make them with a couple big holes in the bottom, screened on the inside. Then I put the bees in the bottom box and the feeder in the top box with the lid on. But the entrance to the top box is still open.

What it looks to me is that the  (robber?) bees are coming into the top box and being fed thru the screen. What??

I think I saw similar behavior last year, in a more typical entrance with robber screen. So are the bees doing the feeding "home bees" which have been coerced? Or maybe robbers who have gained entrance and are working inside?

[Captain776]

Why are you leaving top entrance open?

[yes2matt]

Why are you leaving top entrance open?

It doesn't allow access to the hive, nor to the feeder directly. So I didn't worry about it. There's only one entrance to the hive. It has a robber screen on it.

[cao]

It could be foragers coming back and unloading their cargo to the hive instead of the other way around with robbers.

[yes2matt]

It could be foragers coming back and unloading their cargo to the hive instead of the other way around with robbers.

Oooh. I hadn't thought of that, I guess I just assumed that returning foragers would always enter the hive.

[MikeyN.C.]

Screen bottoms can do the same.

[paus]

Mikey,  I found the same and I had one hive build comb under a single screen.  I have never had problems with the double screen bottom as the screens are 3 1/2 inch apart and there is an oil pan between the screens.

[MikeyN.C.]

Rite on , i don't use them at all .
Solidb, for me . for now.  I'm still a work in progress.

[Dabbler]

I have also seen the unloading through the SBB.

Took a video on my phone. Seeing all those tongues coming through the screen made me think I was watching a "horror" film.