Moving bee's 200 miles!

[beeboybee]

Hi all, early next spring i thinking about moving my hives to somerset,
would i be better off selling my current hives and starting again with new colonies?
or will they adapt to hopefully the warmer weather in the southwest from the north west!

going to have to brush up on my disease recognition and varroa control,

 

[VEG]

they will be fine take them with you, just make sure you dont move them on a very hot day.

 

[Easy Beesy]

Hi just nosey - are you moving with them?

Cx

 

[Outlander]

they will be fine take them with you, just make sure you dont move them on a very hot day.

With Veg. It's a good distance but plan well and well ahead you and your bees should be fine.

 

[beeboybee]

was thinking of moving them lat January possibly up to mid February before they start to expand for the summer.
that will give me xmas break to make some mk2 hive stands and get ready down there.
feels like i will be on a new learning curve with the bee's having a longer summer and lots of OSR to feed on i currently have not had to deal with OSR honey so steep learning curve ahead

 

[Davelin]

Ha ha! Don't get too excited, not much sign of long summers this year, and to be honest the last couple haven't been that special.

 

[Chris B]

Move them 3 feet a day and give them time to adapt slowly

Seriously though 200 miles isn't highly significant. And are your bees actually adapted to your local microclimate in the first place?

And if you offered them for sale here you could well end up selling them to somebody in Somerset anyway.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I moved four colonies this year from Cumbria to Wales, some 230 miles.
Bees were OK.......my nerves were shattered!

 

[Nic Rhodes]

If you do this correctly then it can be done during very high temperatures [well beyond UK temperatures] and much longer distances, all about doing it correctly.

 

[WelshPaul]

God I stress having them for four miles in the car, good luck to you.

 

[borderer]

Moved some Sussex to Cumbria last weekend with no problems. Also heard at a talk today of bees being moved from Spain to Finland with out problems as Nic Rhodes says it is important that the bees are prepared well

 

[beeboybee]

any top tips on physically moving them,

 

[TBRNoTB]

Hi all, early next spring i thinking about moving my hives to somerset,
would i be better off selling my current hives and starting again with new colonies?
or will they adapt to hopefully the warmer weather in the southwest from the north west!

going to have to brush up on my disease recognition and varroa control,

Why? Somerset's no worse than any other part of the country, apart from the lethal cider of course!

 

[TBRNoTB]

any top tips on physically moving them,

On a varroa floor with a fine mesh over the feed hole but ensuring the mesh floor will not get blocked by car boot carpet etc they should be OK.

PS always wanted to make one of those felt rabbits!

 

[beeboybee]

very rare to get any reports of EFB or anything really up this way, i was under the impression the further south you go the more likely it would be?

 

[TBRNoTB]

very rare to get any reports of EFB or anything really up this way, i was under the impression the further south you go the more likely it would be?

Probably true, was really more in the way of a welcome!
Regards
TBRNoTB

 

[beeboybee]

suspect i will a stronger stomach for some of that cider as well.
where abouts are you?

 

[richardbees]

beebb

Somerset's OK, but you'd have problems moving to Finland!

Remove the roof, pin some mesh over the feed hole in the crown board, block the entrance and wrap the lot together with a whole roll of gaffer tape.

They don't care - just think the hollow tree trunk is swaying in the wind!

 

[Hivemaker.]

If the weather is warm and the bee population is high at the time of the move then fit a travel screen on top, strap secure with hive strap,block entrance with a foam strip just before loading, load with frames running parallel with car (not so important if using hoffman frames) give some extra ventilation if they are in your car by keeping a rear window open,you could also give them a light mist spray with water through the top screen, if the weather is hot. If a heavy nectar flow is going on at the time of year they are being moved, then try and move in the early hours of the morning.

 

[johncorne]

any top tips on physically moving them,

The driving is much less worrying in a vehicle with a seperate cab!

Jc