Analyses of Audio and Video Recordings for Detecting a Honey Bee Hive Robbery

Honey bee hive robbery is a common phenomenon that occurs during a period when nectar sources are scarce. In such a case, the hives that are not strong enough to defend themselves and have stored resources such as honey or nectar may be robbed by bees from the nearby hives. Beekeepers often try different approaches to prevent or stop a robbery or take some measures to keep the robbed hive alive, but most of these efforts fail and the targeted hive will eventually collapse. This paper presents some results from the analysis done on audio and video recordings obtained at a hive before and after a robbery. The targeted hive was a top-bar hive and was robbed by the bees from its neighboring hives. Our analyses indicate that there are sufficient clues on the development and progress of a robbery that might be helpful in preventing it.