moving hives

[Liam C Ryan]

Hi All ' is this time of the year a bad time to move hives

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

depends how far and how gently you do it.

 

[betterbee]

bees clustered while moving if shaken and broken up can get chilled and be unable to re cluster,be gentle
martin

 

[Erichalfbee]

Last year, about this time, I moved four boxes about fifty metres.....gently; (carried carefully not trundled over the ground on a trolley) They were OK.
I wouldn't be moving them any distance in a vehicle, for example. If you want to relocate far I would wait till they get going in Spring.

 

[susbees]

bees clustered while moving if shaken and broken up can get chilled and be unable to re cluster,be gentle
martin

Swarms are pretty stuck together, so clusters likewise...my understanding is it's fine to move bees in winter as long as you are careful and leave the heating off in the vehicle (talking easy access sites here).

So if you need to I'd move them. Otherwise wait til Spring....though when that will be is anyone's guess.

 

[Itchy]

So its ok to move short distances in winter? They wont come out on a warm day and go back to the original site?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

So its ok to move short distances in winter? They wont come out on a warm day and go back to the original site?

What you want is a continuous spell of cold/frosty weather before and after the move - be as gentle as possible with them whilst moving then pile some twiggy branches across the entrances of the hives. When they come out of a tight cluster after a cold snap they will instinctively re-orientate - the 'difference' outside the entrance due to the foliage will also trigger this.
I moved five hives a short distance (ranging from six feet for two to about sixty for the others) the day after the weather changed and it warmed up considerably. very few bees went back to the old site sixty feet away.

 

[madasafish]

I moved tow nucs about 30 meters in the garden in Dec 2013. It was cold.. No problems.

Intend to move two TBHs (with help from youngest son) this week. Same distance.

Slow,cold, gentle, plan ahead and expect no problems.

Fast, warm, speed, no planning? Expect something will go wrong.

 

[richardbees]

It all depends on what sort of Winter you are having

My bees haven't clustered yet as the weather has seldom dropped to zero.

If I moved them 30 metres I'd expect that all the foragers etc that flew out on the next mild day would return to the original site.

 

[madasafish]

We have had frosts once a week. No sign of bees trying to forage - too wet and cold. Nothing to forage on.

Move undertaken successfully. No problems , no bees seen flying since we moved them on Tuesday - and I expect none.

 

[blackie]

moving

It all depends on what sort of Winter you are having

My bees haven't clustered yet as the weather has seldom dropped to zero.

If I moved them 30 metres I'd expect that all the foragers etc that flew out on the next mild day would return to the original site.

Agree the (WILL) fly back to original site and die

 

[BILL.HEARD]

What you want is a continuous spell of cold/frosty weather before and after the move - be as gentle as possible with them whilst moving then pile some twiggy branches across the entrances of the hives. When they come out of a tight cluster after a cold snap they will instinctively re-orientate - the 'difference' outside the entrance due to the foliage will also trigger this.
I moved five hives a short distance (ranging from six feet for two to about sixty for the others) the day after the weather changed and it warmed up considerably. very few bees went back to the old site sixty feet away.

You shouldn't get many going back to the original site in these circumstances.

 

[djg]

Good advice indeed.

I lost some foragers when I moved a hive 10 metres in early January - and the weather for the next couple of days was much milder and drier than the forecast (hard to believe this year, I know!). Regrettable, but not a game-changer.

But don't leave your move too long, or Spring will overtake your plans...

 

[SteveJ]

It all depends on what sort of Winter you are having

My bees haven't clustered yet as the weather has seldom dropped to zero.

If I moved them 30 metres I'd expect that all the foragers etc that flew out on the next mild day would return to the original site.

Bees start clustering at about 14 degC. The colder it gets the tighter the cluster.

SteveJ

 

[drstitson]

"Bees start clustering at about 14 degC."

if that were strictly true UK bees would rarely get a chance to forage!!!!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Bees start clustering at about 14 degC. The colder it gets the tighter the cluster.

SteveJ

Not here in the UK
If there's any forage bees are out at 10º

 

[pargyle]

Not here in the UK
If there's any forage bees are out at 10º

Seen mine out and about and foraging at 6.5 degrees, only bringing small amounts of pollen in as there's not a lot about yet ... but only when the sun was shining.

I look on this as a good sign for the spring build up ..

 

[drstitson]

the whole cluster issue is a spectrum from completely loose bees when hot to progressively tighter packed as i gets colder, eventually balling up proper and presumably, if it got cold enough, achieving a mini singularity - from which vicious wasps would emerge out the other side. i'd imagine.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

the whole cluster issue is a spectrum from completely loose bees when hot to progressively tighter packed as i gets colder, eventually balling up proper and presumably, if it got cold enough, achieving a mini singularity - from which vicious wasps would emerge out the other side. i'd imagine.

A trekkie perchance?

 

[Nige.Coll]

i had to move 2 hives a few weeks ago. the bees hadn't seemed to cluster but i was moving them a few miles anyway.

had reports of someone sniffing around the wood they were in . not helped by the farmer doing some maintenance and making hives visible from the road.