Moving bees

[ail901]

I understand the 3 feet 3 miles theory, my question is if I stick to that theory and want to move them say 20 feet how long should I wait between each 3 feet and would the time of year or weather have any influence on things

Thanks in advance

 

[SFires]

I've never had much trouble moving bees no matter the distance. I like to do it during cold weather that way they stay in the hive for a day or two and also make sure that they have to re orientate when they come out of the hive. That's just my two cents. I'm sure they'll be more experienced ppl on to give advice.

 

[Edward.21]

if you get a thick bundle of sticks/leaves and somehow affix them over the entrance when the bees leave they have to re-orientate themselves and you can move them wherever you like.

 

[Tom Bick]

If you have no time restraints and say paths or high traffic areas to cross then take your time. Providing you had a day or two flying days each week I would be happy to move them every week. But you could move them every few days providing they are flying daily

 

[ail901]

Thanks for the helpful replies

 

[Arfermo]

if you get a thick bundle of sticks/leaves and somehow affix them over the entrance when the bees leave they have to re-orientate themselves and you can move them wherever you like.

Stuff the entrance with grass. Bees will remove it when the want to go for a trip out. The forecast is for a cold spell. This would be a good time to move a hive over the distance quoted.

 

[madasafish]

I moved 5 hives about 10-20 meters in the garden in January this year - it was coldish sub 7C and the bees were not flying at the time - with no precautions and no problems at all.

 

[itma]

I understand the 3 feet 3 miles theory, my question is if I stick to that theory and want to move them say 20 feet how long should I wait between each 3 feet and would the time of year or weather have any influence on things

Thanks in advance

Time of year - or specifically weather - does matter.

During winter, when the bees aren't flying at all for weeks on end, you can move them whatever distance (in one go), but particularly carefully and gently so as to avoid shaking bees off the cluster.
Its a bit late for that now, as with the milder weather, most of the bees will have been out on one day or another, and refreshed their memory of where home is.

So, to moving "little by little". At this time of the year, I'd be leaving them in the same place for several days - whereas in midsummer (with all flying bees likely to go out at some point every day) I'd be relaxed about moving it every single (good) day.
The other aspect is that in summer, you can be much more relaxed about how long it might take the bees to find the hive entrance, whereas, in very early spring, bees that can't find the entrance promptly are going to chill quickly and die. No such risk in warm weather.

The "three feet" part is a simplified idea of a simplified rule of thumb!
The maximum move distance depends on the movement direction and the surroundings.
You can move the hive furthest, if you move it 'backwards' - away from its own entrance. The bees will arrive home, and while it isn't there, it is directly in front of them!
Moving it 'towards' the entrance confuses the bees somewhat, and I'd only move it a hive-width sideways (18 inches?)
So, best to begin by rotating it so the move can be 'backwards'.
I would not want to rotate as much as 45 degrees in one step at this time of year.

Then there's the conspicuousness of the hive. If it is in amongst other bee-visual clutter, its is going to be harder for the returning bee to see where it has gone (their eyesight is surprisingly poor and low-res - its also pretty weird, seeing polarisation and uv for example). Moving a brightly-painted hive backwards across an open space, I'd be relaxed about moving it six feet or more. But moving a wooden hive just a couple of feet to the other side of a six-foot high wooden fence? I'd either take out the fence for a while, or move them step-by-step the long way, right round the end of the fence.

Think about what you are doing (from the bees point of view - sometimes literally!) and don't follow 'rules' blindly.