Jim,

>                                   The large hives will rob out any nuc
> with less than four full medium frames of bees.  I have lost most of my
> new Queens to my own robbing bees this year.

Use robber screens to protect your nucs and smaller hives from the larger ones.

They are simple to make. The principle is to have #8 hardware screen covering the entrance area and a way for the resident bees to come and go in an indirect manner. The residents figure out they can't enter/exit directly.

Robbers and wasps are so focused on the entrance they can't get to, they never learn how to get in.

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