Moving bee's 200 miles!

[Chris Luck]

Also heard at a talk today of bees being moved from Spain to Finland with out problems

That's interesting. It could be a dilemma for me should I move to the UK and will have to decide if the cost of transport warrants it and the potential problems.

Chris

 

[Erichalfbee]

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 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.

That's how I moved mine.
2 straps perpendicular to each other,travel screen under roof in the afternoon.
Went back at dusk(it was pouring with rain and we got absolutely soaked) to load two into my car and two into husband's van (lucky sod didn't have to share the cab with the bees and I'm sure they were happier and cooler in the dark)
Roofs off.
The bees spent the night in the vehicles and we set off at dawn.
Kept them closed up for an hour in their new field.
An hour after that they were bringing nectar and pollen home from the HB

 

[Heather]

Should be fine in early part of year.

I moved some last June that I was assured had all been blocked in the night before... yes, looked fine- till I started driving and the couple of hundred that had been snuggled under the OMF decided to venture forth.
Luckily they seemed to like the back window of the car- and the white van drivers believed my 'caution- bees in transit' notice for once!! Only a few bees decided to venture forward- even had one wanting to navigate as she sat on the dashboard all the way. It was a long 10 miles.

p.s. I caught the navigator and returned her to her hive, by the way

p.p.s. Ensure the frames are the same way as the car length. Sudden braking - bees will damage if the frames swing with the car movement.

 

[drstitson]

mine moved 1000+ miles.

not a problem.

 

[fatshark]

I've moved bees several hundred miles, including 2-3 hour ferry crossings, all with no problems or worries in the back of a standard saloon. Most of the points have been covered but I'd add :

Travel screens if it's warm (though it sounds as though you'll be doing this very early in the season)
Stand the hives on wooden battens to give airflow underneath
Strap the hives to lash-down points in the boot (most cars have these now)
As Heather say, frames in the direction of travel
Bee suit on the passenger seat, unless you're feeling very nervous in which case wear it
Make sure there are no stowaways under the OMF
I've always pinned mesh over the entrances and never had problems, but I know others who say bees panic if they can 'see' out. However, if you use foam wedges I'd put mesh over the top
I've seen a contributor on here using mesh curtains to wrap everything in, which seemed very sensible
Classical music or radio 4 only ... they get very agitated by popular music

Finally, I've not moved them in cold weather when they're clustered. Perhaps someone else can comment if this is sensible or not. I suspect the vibration might disturb them and the car is bound to be quite a bit warmer ...

Enjoy Somerset!

 

[itma]

Fatshark has expressed it well.

But if you have proper 14x12 frames (hoffmans) and a modicum of propolis, the frames will not swing about.
You won't have any supers on.
Frame direction matters big time with those nasty metal or plastic clip-on spacers ...

With an OMF (board out naturally), and some battening beneath, and especially with a travel screen on top, the entrance isn't needed for ventilation. So use the proper entrance block (rather than foam).
And tape it in place.
And (as well as using straps) tape the floor and travel screen to the brood box -- so they can't slide apart!

Shut them in the night before, having configured the hive earlier still (travel screen rather than crownboard and whatever).

Drive gently (but around potholes) and you'll be fine.
But be sure to have help loading and unloading those 14x12s!

 

[oliver90owner]

At least two straps one way and one the other - I use two each way if going any distance. Straps are as cheap as chips compared to a hive shifting apart in a mishap.