Move bees 8ft

[Frosty27]

I caught a swarm last weekend. I took it to my apiary and put them in place. I have now decided I would rather move them 8ft away to another site. How can I do this without moving them 3 miles away first? Just move 3ft a day?

 

[Sutty]

2-3 feet per day, go slower if other hives very nearby.

 

[blackcloud]

Just move them!!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Just move them!!

it's only eight feet in total - they'll get the message

 

[user 20297]

it's only eight feet in total - they'll get the message

I've just watched a late evening shift of workers arrive home to find that someone had removed their hive and stand to be reunited with the parent hive about fifteen metres away.
About thirty homeless bees quickly reoriented themselves next door and within minutes they were walking in as if they owned the place. A few of them even started to help the small squad fanning outside; they do seem to sort themselves out.

 

[Michael Palmer]

Of course you can just move it 8 feet.

Funny thing about bees learning a new entrance or location for their hive. When I close the top entrance in spring, the bees are forced to learn to use the bottom entrance. The do...quickly. Moving 8 feet or even more really isn't different. I remember a hive I had to move across the apiary road. 10-12 feet. It wasn't long before the field force sorted it out. But did they return to the hive directly to the new location? Nope, they didn't. They flew back to the old location, then crossed the apiary road and into the new entrance. This went on with the old field bees until they were all gone. The new bees learned the new entrance. The field force in the hives with the closed upper entrance...well, they do the same thing. Fly in from the field to the old location, and crawl down the hive to the new location. Makes me think....

What is bee memory? The bees don't think to fly home to the new entrance or location. They fly home to the old entrance or location and then to the new entrance of location. They never change what they have learned, but only add to it, as you might add to a web site address.
So, I'm thinking bee memory is more like a web address. It would look something like this...fly_in_from_field/to_old_entrance_or_location/crawl_or_fly_to_new_entrance_or_new_location

 

[Antipodes]

Of course you can just move it 8 feet.

Funny thing about bees learning a new entrance or location for their hive. When I close the top entrance in spring, the bees are forced to learn to use the bottom entrance. The do...quickly. Moving 8 feet or even more really isn't different. I remember a hive I had to move across the apiary road. 10-12 feet. It wasn't long before the field force sorted it out. But did they return to the hive directly to the new location? Nope, they didn't. They flew back to the old location, then crossed the apiary road and into the new entrance. This went on with the old field bees until they were all gone. The new bees learned the new entrance. The field force in the hives with the closed upper entrance...well, they do the same thing. Fly in from the field to the old location, and crawl down the hive to the new location. Makes me think....

What is bee memory? The bees don't think to fly home to the new entrance or location. They fly home to the old entrance or location and then to the new entrance of location. They never change what they have learned, but only add to it, as you might add to a web site address.
So, I'm thinking bee memory is more like a web address. It would look something like this...fly_in_from_field/to_old_entrance_or_location/crawl_or_fly_to_new_entrance_or_new_location

I've seen similar and that was when I concluded that some field bees live a lot longer than the books told me they did!

 

[rook66]

I've seen similar and that was when I concluded that some field bees live a lot longer than the books told me they did!

This is also evident when moving bees back home after their hols. Some forget their old address after a week away while others are wandering around confused after a three week sojourn.

 

[Frosty27]

So I'm safe enough to just move them the 8ft in one go? Thanks for all the replies

 

[blackcloud]

You might lose a few flying bees - replacements will emerge tomorrow.

 

[Antipodes]

So I'm safe enough to just move them the 8ft in one go? Thanks for all the replies

Yes.

 

[Finman]

I've seen similar and that was when I concluded that some field bees live a lot longer than the books told me they did!

It is an average age, what has been said about worker's age. When you change the color of bees, you see how they didappear.