Moving 200m

[bpmurray]

I want to move one hive from home to a neighbour's field about 200m away. I understand the 3ft/3miles concept, but I have also read that I could lock them in for 72 hours and then stick a leafy branch in front of the entrance and that would force them to go into reorientation mode. Has anyone tried this with success or otherwise?

 

[misterbee82]

Well 200 meters is 600 feet. Six hundred feet is less than a quarter mile from the original location. Recommendation is usually 3 miles. This one is highly risky. You're going to have to determine if you're willing to take that risk.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

I want to move one hive from home to a neighbour's field about 200m away. I understand the 3ft/3miles concept, but I have also read that I could lock them in for 72 hours and then stick a leafy branch in front of the entrance and that would force them to go into reorientation mode. Has anyone tried this with success or otherwise?

I believe that to be true, minus the 72 hours, ie just forcing reorientation with leaves but have never tried it (have read it on here often). Assuming the colony is relatively close to other colonies, your net loss will be limited (accepting drifting happens anyway) and you can always pay the moved one back with a frame of brood.

 

[JWF]

Are you able to place an empty nuc at the original location to catch any stragglers, then combine them with the original hive if necessary?

 

[Obee1]

I moved my hives just less than half a mile - didn't lock them in but did use leafy branches (aka magic twigs) to semi block the entrances. I left a nuc on the original site of each hive (moved four). About 30 bees returned that evening from the biggest hive. The others had maybe one or two returners. When I returned early next morning to collect those 30 for repatriation they had disappeared. Did periodic checks on the nucs but never saw more than one or two bees over the following week.

 

[birdsandbees]

I had to move a strong colony in a Nuc about fifteen feet and raise it up a few feet, used a conifer branch and just shut in over night, there were a very few bees (maybe 20) that failed to reorientate themselves and were hovering around the old site and they soon dissapeared so I guess found their way back.

Magic stick did seem to do the job

 

[Poly Hive]

As per Obee1.

There are a lot of "truths" in this lakrk that when tested err... fail. Yet they are in the books as gospel.

I trialled it moving bees just 500yds and used a CB over the entrance so they "bumped their heads" on exiting and had to have a look round and it went perfectly. None returned to the OS.

KISS

PH

 

[wessexmario]

I want to move one hive from home to a neighbour's field about 200m away. I understand the 3ft/3miles concept, but I have also read that I could lock them in for 72 hours and then stick a leafy branch in front of the entrance and that would force them to go into reorientation mode. Has anyone tried this with success or otherwise?

Have done it a couple of times, locking them in at dusk, moving them the next day, and opening the entrance the morning after, applying the magic twigs. - so just 36 hours locked in.
I stuffed a handfull of soft grass in the entrance as well once, that's supposed to have a similar effect as the branch (simulating a fallen tree, ie change of landscape)
Worked a treat each time - just a cupful of bees returning to a box left at the old sites.
My moves were possibly the worst possible distance - 500m, guaranteed to cross previous foraging paths, but much too far away to find the new home site from the old by searching.

 

[MartinL]

Always been sceptical about this as the true number of bees lost is never quantifiable.

About 30 bees returned that evening from the biggest hive. The others had maybe one or two returners. When I returned early next morning to collect those 30 for repatriation they had disappeared. .

However, give it a go and let us all know what the results are.
I'm always happy to experiment when there's no personal risk!

Maybe you could get a team to study the old location? They could accurately record the numbers returning to the old location, including ones that crawl away knackered or get taken by predators as they circle aimlessly, (in addition to the ones that choose to take cover in whatever shelter remains there at nightfall)?

 

[Cussword]

Have done it a couple of times, locking them in at dusk, moving them the next day, and opening the entrance the morning after, applying the magic twigs. - so just 36 hours locked in.
I stuffed a handfull of soft grass in the entrance as well once, that's supposed to have a similar effect as the branch (simulating a fallen tree, ie change of landscape)
Worked a treat each time - just a cupful of bees returning to a box left at the old sites.
My moves were possibly the worst possible distance - 500m, guaranteed to cross previous foraging paths, but much too far away to find the new home site from the old by searching.

Is it true that we can only obtain the magic twigs from JBM (at what he calls, a reasonable price)?



.

 

[Karsal]

Moving hives 300m

I want to move one hive from home to a neighbour's field about 200m away. I understand the 3ft/3miles concept, but I have also read that I could lock them in for 72 hours and then stick a leafy branch in front of the entrance and that would force them to go into reorientation mode. Has anyone tried this with success or otherwise?

Have a look at one of my earlier posts. Moved 3 hives 300m or so and didn't have a problem. You need to keep them shut in for 3 days or so before releasing them.

 

[Poly Hive]

No need at all. Put an obstacle over the entrance and they will be fine as they will "bump their heads" and take note of the location. Done it more than a few times now and it works well.

PH

 

[bpmurray]

So I'm playing it safe - they were locked in last night & I'll let them out tomorrow with the magic twigs in front of the entrance. I'll also leave a nuc on their old home, just in case.

I'll report back tomorrow on what's happened.

 

[bpmurray]

I removed the gaffer tape & a lump of sponge in the middle of the entrance, under a few leafy branches. They've clustered around the entrance, but don't appear to be moving even now, a couple of hours later. It's supposed to rain this afternoon so they wouldn't be flying much anyway. I've placed a nuc on the old site and can watch it here. There's another hive a few feet away, so any stragglers will probably drift there, but I've only noticed one bee looking at the nuc - that could be one from the other hive or could be a straggler, but it's gone now.

When should I remove the branches?

Edit: just checked and there are a few foragers returning to the nuc, but they all seem to eventually give up & join the other hive. I don't really mind that they get more - I plan on using that as a finisher, but I worry about the moved hive losing its foragers.

Edit 2: There are now around 20-50 flying around the nuc, going in & leaving so obviously they're not happy. When they stop flying this evening, I'll lock them in and take them to the new location & shake them in.

 

[bpmurray]

Yesterday was a cool blustery day with plenty of showers and I ended up with about 50 in the nuc. However, on day 2 it doesn't look any better - worse, in fact:

[IMG="http://s32.postimg.org/6vjp355xt/download.jpg"]

 

[thenovice]

if you have the luxury of time wait until a spell of bad weather is predicted so foraging is not too frantic. then move the hives, lock them in for a day and then do the magic branch trick. I moved a hive last year in this way for about your 300m and all was fine.

edit: reading your last 3 posts, you have cleverer bees than I do

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

It's a fool who disregards the old 'truths' completely

 

[Honeybeeco]

I wish I could say different but I've never had any success moving our hives a short distance like you mention.

I've tried everything from locking them up, waiting till it snowed and they didn't fly for 10 days, I've also tried sticks, planks of wood and a few other obsticals In front of the new hive entrance at their new location and everytime after they are opened up, over a few days a substantial amount of bees go back to the old hive location where I usually put a nuc or hive to catch anything returning.

My grandad and dad laughed everytime I tried it as they were/ are old school Beeks and been there and done that.

Andy.

 

[GlenJ]

Maybe the problem is putting a "home" in the place of the old hive. I've observed bees going back to the old site, but when they can't find the hive they start to look for it, and if that fails I'm sure they look for the nearest hive.

 

[bpmurray]

Maybe the problem is putting a "home" in the place of the old hive. I've observed bees going back to the old site, but when they can't find the hive they start to look for it, and if that fails I'm sure they look for the nearest hive.

I think you're right, which was why I removed the nuc - they mysteriously vanished after that, although over the two days I probably lost 100 bees, not a disaster but something I would have preferred not to have happened. However there was another issue I only discovered late yesterday - the branches had been blown off by the strong winds.