2 hives robbing each other?

[Spear]

I have 2 hives on my garden and 10 hives on my mothers property. The 2 hives on my garden are both showing signs of robbing, lots of wax under both hives. Could it be that they are robbing each other? I am feeding both hives with a dish feeder - large plastic dish filled with staw and syrup. Why would they still be robbing each other?

[T Beek]

Are the 2 colonies approximately the same age, strength and size?  Could just be a hatching out of new bees on their orientation flights.  Wax bits below is normal 'if' your hives have SBB

Robbing 'looks' very nasty, lots of "obvious" fighting, chewing, chasing, noise and many DEAD BEES. 

Seems there's alot of confusion over robbing behavior this season.  Fed hives can and will rob another usually weaker hive, even well fed ones if they have room for their loot.  Where are you placing the syrup?  Inside hives or outside?  If outside, move feeder away at least 100 yards (what's metric for a yard, meter right?)

If you're certain of robbing, close the victim entrance (s) down to ONE BEE size.  That's step one, but I'm not yet convinced until some questions are answered  :)

[Spear]

I was feeding them with an open feeder a short ways behind the hives but was told by my bee guy that open feeding is not allowed in Germany so I moved the feeders inside the hives on monday night. I only noticed the wax under the hives today. Not sure how long it has been there since I have not really looked under the hives before today...

[T Beek]

Yeah, the wax is likely normal IMO. 

Strange law to prohibit "open" feeding your bees.  I place a 5 gal bucket some distance away in the morning, filled half way with syrup and its empty by dusk.  I haven't experienced robbing in my beeyard for several years.

[Spear]

I think the reason for no open feeding is that it attracts wild bees that could be carrying sickness that can be transfered to the "domestic" bees or something like that...

[T Beek]

IMHO;  All bees are wild, the only unwelcome visitors at my open feeders are yellow jackets.  I do hate them but they are a fraction of the bees consuming syrup.

The 'forced' domestication of honeybees is an issue humans have failed to recognize as a primary contributor to their demise around the globe.  They tell us that they are not cattle by their behavior.

The possible return of wild honeybees should be seen as a positive IMO.  
 
Wild bees should have more to fear from what they might pick up in a hive of "kept" bees rather than the other way around.