My hive robbery has slowed down and may have even stopped completely. The solution was the wet sheet I draped over the hive yesterday afternoon. Just hours after I applied the sheet, I could see activity at the front of the hive slowing down. I didn't observe any more wasps entering through the crack where the cover meets the super (since the wet towel was in the way). I took the sheet off in the evening to allow for night time ventilation, and this morning, activity looked normal. It's about noon now, and the entrance has a bit of activity. I saw some wasps in the grass in front of the hive, so I replaced the sheet.
All in all, a wet sheet is a great strategy to stop hive robbing. It seemed to help the bees get a leg up on their enemies, and it may have prevented a colony loss later on if the honey robbing perpetuated. I hope the bees have enough honey left to make it through the winter, and I hope that not too many of the actual bees were killed in this epic skirmish.
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