Christine McDonald, a beekeeper from Terrace, B.C., recently experienced something she never imagined in her years of working with bees. Her shop, filled with honey and equipment, suddenly became the target of a massive invasion. “Thousands and thousands” of robber bees swarmed inside, all desperate to get their tiny mouths on her honey supply.
Robber bees are honeybees that attack other colonies or food sources when nectar becomes scarce, especially in late summer or early fall. Normally, they raid outdoor hives. But this time, the bees broke into McDonald’s indoor shop through cracks in an old bay door, something she had never seen before.
Bees have a way of spreading the word when they find food. They perform what is called a “waggle dance,” letting other bees know the exact location of the prize. This is likely how the shop invasion grew from just a few bees to thousands.
Though McDonald is used to working with bees daily, this attack left her frightened. “I think that’s the most panicked I have felt,” she admitted. The sight of thousands of bees flying wildly through the shop, determined to take honey, was overwhelming.
Her first thought was to protect the honey. Quickly, she threw tarps and lids over the equipment and jars to cover them. She managed to save most of the honey, but the bees kept pouring in.
In a creative move, McDonald “sacrificed her bathroom.” She left the light on inside, knowing bees are attracted to light, and watched as they flew toward it. Once inside, she trapped and collected them before releasing them outdoors.
Still, the invasion didn’t end in a single day. For four to five days, bees kept returning, searching for food. “I think they finally learned there’s no more food here. We can’t get in,” McDonald said with relief. She has now sealed the cracks in her door with tape to stop future invasions.
According to honeybee experts, robber bee attacks usually happen when flowers stop producing nectar and food becomes limited. By late summer, bee populations are still high, but natural food is low. This creates desperation in some colonies.
Alison McAfee, a bee scientist at the University of B.C., compared it to how bears desperately look for food before winter. Bees, she explained, behave in a similar way — trying to steal from weaker colonies to survive.
Wasps can also cause problems. Earlier in the season, they feed on sugary secretions from their larvae. But in fall, with fewer larvae around, adult wasps start looking for sweets elsewhere — including beehives.
While robber bees may sound harmless compared to wasps, they can actually be deadly. If a colony is weak and cannot defend itself, robber bees can wipe it out completely. “Sometimes, bees kill other bees too,” McAfee explained.
After days of chaos, McDonald finally returned to normal beekeeping and honey production. But she admitted this year feels different — bees seem more desperate than usual, possibly because of extended summer heat.
She offered advice to fellow beekeepers: “Keep your bees well fed so they don’t feel the need to rob others.”
The invasion may have been frightening, but it was also a reminder of how harsh survival can be in nature. For McDonald, it was a test of patience, quick thinking, and resilience. For the bees, it was simply an act of survival in a world where resources are running low.
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