Moving a hive

[tkwinston4]

I have decided to move my hive because i just don't think they are getting enough sun and they haven't expanded as much as i had expected especially when compared to a near neighbour. We are close to OSR too. I haven't found any open queen cells either, in fact i haven't found any queen cells apart from one several weeks ago which i removed. so i am confident that they haven't swarmed.
So my question is how do i go about moving a hive with two supers on? It will be travelling 23 miles.

 

[Mike a]

Wait until they have all stopped flying for the day and seal the entrance, move them to the new site and as long as its over 3 miles they will not try to return to what was their home. Keep the car temperature cool or at least with plenty of ventilation and get them on the new site and allow them to fly as soon as possible.



Friend of mine collected his packages today from a well known supplier and by the time he got home more than half of them were dead in one package from over heating despite trying to keep them as cool as possible.

 

[Rosti]

With two supers I think it will be too heavy as a single unit and possibly too much weight up top in transit causing movement? I would clear supers as normal with what ever your prefered method is. Leave a day to ensure the bees are crammed in the brood box, if you need more space use an empty eke. Strap securely both ways floor, brood (+eke?) and crown (entrance blocked). Gaffa tape joints etc for good measure.

Transport and leave closed over night to calm. When you open up then add back supers. Unless you have a fork lift and a flat bed I dont see how you'll move it otherwise and securing all those 'layers' together without mishap feels like a tall order. Good luck

 

[Poly Hive]

Do not even think of moving them in this heat.

Wait for cooler weather please. There is nectar in the brood box as well as the supers and I for one NEVER move bees with anything in the supers.

I lost 8 one night and am damm*d if I am repeating that mistake.

I am also very sceptical about lack of sun affecting your build up. What other issues might there be?
PH

 

[tkwinston4]

Not really sure PH. They are a swarm i collected last summer, they have come through the winter well but have taken a very long time to build up. compared to my near neighbour they are several weeks behind hers. I guess it could be the queen failing because i dont know how old she is.
My reasoning behind the sun issue is because last summer they enjoyed the sun from late morning until late evening but this year the trees in next doors garden have grown enough to start shading them from the sun from late afternoon and I am convinced they just dont get enough sun compared to my neighbours hives who are in full sun most of the day.
What other ideas do you have PH? All advice welcome

 

[Poly Hive]

First thought is strain of bee. AMM for example will take far longer then Carnies to build up to the same point.

I just feel that lack of direct sun light is unlikely to be the root cause.

Have you checked for Nosema?

PH

 

[m100]

I haven't found any open queen cells either, in fact i haven't found any queen cells apart from one several weeks ago which i removed.

'One' could be a supersedure cell so your previous queen might have been on the verge of failing, the bees recognised it and then you buggered up their plans. Of course it could be loads of other things and the OSR might be a variety that doesn't producing any nectar.

If bees in the locality have managed to survive in previous years I wouldn't move them in the hope of sorting them out, I'd fix the problem on site.

It could be Nosema, it could be something else. Call a bee inspector in. It's free.

 

[tkwinston4]

Ok strain of bee could well be a factor because my neighbours are different to mine. Got no idea what we have but mine are a lot darker than hers.

They have not been tested for Nosema. I have just had a read up on testing etc but not too sure who to send them too in my area. Will need to investigate further.

My neighbour is coming round this evening and we are going to go through them again thoroughly to see if we can see anything else that may be causing them a problem.

The bee inspector came late last year, will them come again do you think m100?

If you think PH that the lack of direct sunlight should not be a problem then i will bow to your greater knowledge.

"'One' could be a supersedure cell so your previous queen might have been on the verge of failing, the bees recognised it and then you buggered up their plans." New beek panic when i saw that - hope that i havent stuffed things up for them. Would they not have built another?

I did find one wax moth larva and whipped that out pronto but could not see any evidence of any more. So i ruled that out.

Its all about detective work i guess or learning to speak bee.

Keep the comments coming please, i value them all.