Moving hives 2 miles?

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Sep 7, 2015
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Location
East Yorkshire
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
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Thoughts on my moving hives 2 miles. Max temp 5c today, 7c tomorrow & 11c next day. Could close up for today & tomorrow and use the twigs (whether or not they help) . It’s less than the 3 miles but they end up in 2 fields of rape which is now flowering.
Is it with the risk?
 
A short while ago I moved a hive just 1,5km further down a hill. Just opened them up and left them to it - nice cold foggy day as it happens - none flying about at all. Checked the old place a day later, no returners at all and at new placement found some just orienting/toileting. Couldn't do that in the summer though.
 
Thoughts on my moving hives 2 miles. Max temp 5c today, 7c tomorrow & 11c next day. Could close up for today & tomorrow and use the twigs (whether or not they help) . It’s less than the 3 miles but they end up in 2 fields of rape which is now flowering.
Is it with the risk?
yes, just do it - no need for closing up for days on end or magic twigs. The three mile rule is just a rough guyide not some set in stone mathematical formula. Early on in the year, they won't be venturing very far to forage, and as you are slapping them in the middle of OSR, they won't be going much further than that, so unless they are already foraging on the OSR from two miles away, they are not likely to overlap forage areas.
 
yes, just do it - no need for closing up for days on end or magic twigs. The three mile rule is just a rough guyide not some set in stone mathematical formula. Early on in the year, they won't be venturing very far to forage, and as you are slapping them in the middle of OSR, they won't be going much further than that, so unless they are already foraging on the OSR from two miles away, they are not likely to overlap forage areas.
I wonder if it makes a different oif you move them away from the direction they've been flying - ie if they are mostly foraging, and are familiar with, west, can you get away with moving them a shorter distance East?
 
I wonder if it makes a different oif you move them away from the direction they've been flying - ie if they are mostly foraging, and are familiar with, west, can you get away with moving them a shorter distance East?
I don't think the direction of where they are going when they oriantate they circle the hole area, it might be a bit of a last chance saloon doing it shorter distances now with the weather 3 inches of snow here - 4 tonight.

I've bought a colony back to the garden they have been here three weeks, tomorrow they are being moved 40 metres hopefully they will be fine no twigs but I'm still going to close the entrance.
 
A short while ago I moved a hive just 1,5km further down a hill. Just opened them up and left them to it - nice cold foggy day as it happens - none flying about at all. Checked the old place a day later, no returners at all and at new placement found some just orienting/toileting. Couldn't do that in the summer though.
You can often move bees a short distance but key is how protected/sheltered were they from place to place. i.e. If it has nice high trees all around i find you can move them very short distances, on the other hand i am sure in Norfolk it is a nightmare.
 
I supplied mine with tiny little compasses! Bought them off eBay for £5 each. Lock down schooling on how to use them and now my bees always find their way home!
 
I wonder if it makes a different oif you move them away from the direction they've been flying - ie if they are mostly foraging, and are familiar with, west, can you get away with moving them a shorter distance East?
yes, in a nutcase. The bees only orientate to the immediate vicinity of the hive (hence the 'three feet' bit of the 'rule') If they have exclusively foraged in one direction, then moving them in the opposite direction more than three feet will have the same effect. Of course all this depends on the collective memory of the whole hive.
 
I supplied mine with tiny little compasses! Bought them off eBay for £5 each. Lock down schooling on how to use them and now my bees always find their way home!
Wot no atlas or a satnav? How cruel.
 
I've bought a colony back to the garden they have been here three weeks, tomorrow they are being moved 40 metres hopefully they will be fine no twigs but I'm still going to close the entrance.

40 metres? Hmm. I would definitely be putting a nuc box out to catch all the flyers, unless you are leaving that entrance closed for 3 days or something? .....
 
40 metres? Hmm. I would definitely be putting a nuc box out to catch all the flyers, unless you are leaving that entrance closed for 3 days or something? .....
So I moved them in the snow and today its 8+ and not much activity a few bees flying and none as yet have gone back to the old site..
I have a stack of spare boxes and nucs on the old site some with drawn comb incase..
 
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Moved one allotment hive 10 meters mid March and obscured entrance with leafy branches for two weeks.

No apparent losses.
 
Moved a hive 1.5 miles this evening. Will open them up on Sunday. Original site is in the bottom of a valley (difficult access for me) surrounded by trees, new site is a bit higher up but easy access and in woodland. Have left a Nuc box with empty combs on original site. Will be interesting to see what happens.
 
In recent cold spell moved four hives about 25 m, left them closed up for 2 days. Only about 100 bees returned to the old location. We've had to move hives about a mile twice last year, both times in cold weather, kept them in for a couple of days and no problems.
 
I have a swarm that was left a few weeks in a nuc about 1.5km away - mid summer so I guess i have to go via an out apiary to return them to my main apiary (have just vaped them)

how long do you have to leave them at a distance before they can be returned home ?

Can you leave them a few days or did i read they need 3 weeks ?
 
I have a swarm that was left a few weeks in a nuc about 1.5km away - mid summer so I guess i have to go via an out apiary to return them to my main apiary (have just vaped them)

how long do you have to leave them at a distance before they can be returned home ?

Can you leave them a few days or did i read they need 3 weeks ?

Unless you move them on the same day they arrive, you need to leave them in place until you have seen evidence of a laying queen. That could be 1 day or 5 weeks. If you move them when the queen is still doing mating flights you risk losing her as she might get lost. There's nothing special about 3 weeks.

For your specific question, if the queen has mated, leave them in the out apiary for a few days I guess.
 

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