moving bees

[peteinwilts]

Hi Guys

I want to move one of my apiarys. The destination will be only two fields away (about a kilometer)

I plan to temporarily move them to a remote apiary more than three miles away due to the 3ft\3m rule.

Is three weeks recomended due to the lifespan of flying bees in Summer? Does the time spent away need to be extended in the cooler months due to bees living longer?

Cheers
Pete

 

[itma]

Can you wait until midwinter?
Then you should be able to get away with a direct move ...

 

[peteinwilts]

Maybe. I made is a mistake in siting the apiary.

it is a good sunny corner of a field fenced off to the world. They are stained drab green with mottled roof's.
In summer they are invisible.

In winter the grass turns brown and the hedgerow disappears and they stick out like a sore thumb and can be easily seen from a main road.

I drove down the road in early spring and realised how easy they are to spot and vowed to move them in summer. Then came the rain which turned the fields into quagmire.

I could leave them until the frosts of mid winter... if we have a proper winter...

 

[Margaret Elisabeth]

Hi Guys

I want to move one of my apiarys. The destination will be only two fields away (about a kilometer)

I plan to temporarily move them to a remote apiary more than three miles away due to the 3ft\3m rule.

Is three weeks recomended due to the lifespan of flying bees in Summer? Does the time spent away need to be extended in the cooler months due to bees living longer?

Cheers
Pete

I don't understand why you are moving them twice. Is it not cold enough for all the bees to be in the hive before sunset where you are? It certainly is here. Surely the bees would return to the new location if you waited till dusk to move them and the hives were in their new home in the morning when they have the opportunity to forage again.

 

[VEG]

the bees would fly back to where the hives were the next day if they were out. Thats why two moves would be needed. Move them more than 3 miles away they orientate to that new location, then move them to the new location.

 

[itma]

I don't understand why you are moving them twice.

You can move them 3 miles or more, out of their home area, and they won't 'home' (back to their old home).
At the other end of the scale, move the hive less than 3 feet and they should still be able to find it.
Hence the "less than 3 feet or more than 3 miles" rule.
But its not a rule, just a simplification into a rule of thumb.
Its bees, so there are ways, but not necessarily obvious ones!


Pete - you should be fine to move them away now (quagmire not withstanding), and into the new site in midwinter.

 

[biglongdarren]

i moved bees a few weeks ago just under a mile, set them in there new location,stuffed the entrance with loose grass and twigs and they were fine, i even set an old hive on there old spot and stopped by a few times the next day and never noticed anything at it.
Darren

 

[weebee]

I believe it takes 3 days for bees to "forget" a location and start afresh with orientation flights. Any shorter and inevitably some of the flying bees will seek out the original hive location. Take this into consideration during any hive move.

Make sure there are plenty of food stores if stuffing the entrance with grass, even if it’s only for a day!

 

[FreeFall]

Not sure how much it would matter but moving them in mid-winter during a cold spell would most likely cause the cluster to break up. Thoughts?

 

[peteinwilts]

I believe it takes 3 days for bees to "forget" a location and start afresh with orientation flights. Any shorter and inevitably some of the flying bees will seek out the original hive location. Take this into consideration during any hive move.

Make sure there are plenty of food stores if stuffing the entrance with grass, even if it’s only for a day!

you are talking about artificial swarms. In this case bees often fly back to the original location.

this is why if the new splits become short of bees, then the locations can be swapped back so the flyers return to the new hive.

 

[peteinwilts]

If moved in midwinter, would it not risk splitting the cluster, or will they just huddle back together?

 

[YorkshireBees]

I moved several hives at about the same time last year and approx 1 mile or less.
It helped by leaning a board against the front of the hive so that they had a new obstacle to negotiate entering or leaving the hive and on the old site I only noticed a few drones returning!

 

[iombeeman]

by moving bees in winter when they are clustered,you are increasing stress for the bees,why do that if you dont have to? i would move the bees in the active season,before you put supers on or after you take them off.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I've moved boxes in mid winter ........ and I'm doing so this winter
No problem at all

 

[REDWOOD]

PH done this in the summer, there is a thread on it somewhere

 

[Poly Hive]

He did indeed and further bees in winter as not as fragile as you might think. Not do they spend the whole time as a cluster.... another bit of frequently touted nonsense.

PH

 

[AndyTh]

Someone mentioned that bees "forget" their old site 3 days after a move. I had a swarm in a bait hive on my drive last year, when I was away for a few days and they had become established there. I needed to move them away from family to mu apiary, 200 yards away. So I moved them 5 miles away to a friends' land and waited. I could not find any answer to "how long to wait until there is no chance any bees will remember their old home". I moved them back to my apiary after 2 weeks - and STILL many hundreds returned laden with pollen to the old site on my drive. They certainly can have long memories, so I would think those advising a winter move in one go are what I'd do if I was in your position. Wouldn't it be tragic to lose those foragers now when every bee counts? Andy

 

[BeeNice]

I have moved two hives a matter of about 500 yds midwinter, and others half a mile. No problem, best time to move them.