Moving Colonies

[3bees]

Hi All,
I am hoping to move 3 strong nucs (on 6 frames with space above) to a new apiary site. I have two existing sites with candidates for the move, one more than three miles away from the new site, the other, my back garden is only about 1 mile away (maybe less). It would be so much easier to move the colonies from my back garden.

What are people's advice/experience moving colonies about 1 mile?

Thanks

 

[sjt]

Could you not move the ones from your garden to your other existing site, wait a couple of weeks and then move them to the new site?

I moved a couple of hives about 200 yards, left them shut in for 48 hours and all was ok however that was a month ago. I did leave a poly nuc at the original site and only a few returned.

Both hives now thriving.

 

[SDM]

Ive just sold 4 nucs to a guy about a mile away, they were opened straight away on a nice sunny day and not a single bee returned to the original site.
Theyre not likely to be covering anything like 3 miles to forage yet.

 

[Finman]

.

What are people's advice/experience moving colonies about 1 mile?

Thanks

1 mile is normal daily foraging area of the colony. They know the scenery and their old home site.

But you may put a hive, which collect home returning bees. Catastrophe is possible too, if you do not mind about distance warning.
.

 

[Cuckmere couple]

Interesting
I had wondered how accurate the moving 3 miles had to be.
I have a new apiary 2.8k (1.7m) and was wondering if the 3m was a ‘possible but rare’ distance to return from or a slam dunk.

 

[Poly Hive]

The three miles "rule of thumb" is to allow for a bee being moved say 2.8 miles. It flies out to forage and goes 1.4 miles. At that point, it recognises its old flight path and so returns to the old site. That's the theory.

In practice, most bees fly far less than a mile or so. Given that there is a big margin to play with.

Again in practice, I have moved (as an experiment) a nuc 500m and covered it with branches and only a couple of bees returned.

There you go....there is lee way.

PH

 

[Cuckmere couple]

that really helps my situation

 

[Ian123]

Years ago I had bees at home and a site about a mile and a half away tops, I would move bees between the 2 on a regular basis with out issue

 

[philipm]

Yes I've moved bees less than 3 miles from my garden to the top of our field ,I shut them up for a couple of days making sure they had ventilation.Only a few returned to the old site,so not a major problem.

 

[Murox]

Yes I've moved bees less than 3 miles from my garden to the top of our field ,I shut them up for a couple of days making sure they had ventilation.Only a few returned to the old site,so not a major problem.

In the past I had a very similar experience, the distance was actually around 100yds. shutting them up for at least 24 hours and forcing them to reorient seems to be important, but I know it does not always work. Bee just don't read the right books.!

 

[jeff33]

I combined a nuc to a Q- hive last week and moved the nuc to the apiary 500m away. For 2 days (after they chewed through the paper) I had around 20 foragers coming back to the old site looking for their old home. It's fine now, they are not coming back.

All my hives apart from the nuc were moved to this same apiary 500m away. Bees were kept in for 10 days and I put foliage in front of the entrance to encourage re-orientation. Didn't have a problem but as above, I wouldn't lock the bees in now, too late.

 

[3bees]

Thanks for all the positive replies, I will give it a try (booked for next Wednesday) and post the result.

 

[3bees]

Thanks for all the positive replies, I will give it a try (booked for next Wednesday) and post the result.

So, I moved my three Nucs (all three have brood extensions) from my back garden to my new out apiary as planned yesterday. The out apiary is no more than 1 mile away as the bee flies. The weather today was 14 degrees and sunny -pleased to say that no bees returned to the dummy Nucs set up in my garden.

 

[Eyeman]

In the past I had a very similar experience, the distance was actually around 100yds. shutting them up for at least 24 hours and forcing them to reorient seems to be important, but I know it does not always work. Bee just don't read the right books.!

A temporary 'lock-in' seems to be the answer when moving colonies a short distance.
Tom Seeley locks them in for 4 days whilst feeding heavily.

 

[Murox]

That makes a lot of sense.

 

[Eyeman]

That makes a lot of sense.

Tom Seeley was quizzed about it during one of his talks at the BBKA honey show a few years back. It's on youtube.

 

[3bees]

A temporary 'lock-in' seems to be the answer when moving colonies a short distance.
Tom Seeley locks them in for 4 days whilst feeding heavily.

To be honest, I didn't bother to lock them in. Stuffed sponge in the entrance for transporting. Put the hives on their stand, removed the sponge and went home - worked a treat.