Three feet or three miles

[alancooper]

I housed a swarm in my apiary last Late summer, about 150 metres from the hives, separated by young trees about three metres high. About six weeks ago (the day after storm Eowyn) I moved it alongside the other hives. No problem. Two days ago 6th March I noticed that a few dozen bees (maybe a couple of hundred) had started to clump on a wood pile now on the late summer swarm site. This has happened on two more successive days.
I had assumed that a week or two is that is needed for bees to reorientate to a new site. Is there a broad consensus on how long moved colonies need to forget their home site?

 

[Tigger]

It's a bit late now since you've already moved them but the method I've learned and used is not the three feet or three miles one but the following.

In the evening when they are all in bed block up the entrance and either then or the following morning move the hive to the new location (150m in your case)
Leave the hive closed up for 1-2 days, then put some foliage in front of the entrance and release the bees. As they come out they will notice that their surroundings are different and they will re-orient to the new location.
Bingo!

But for you the question is what should you do with those few dozen bees?
Perhaps put a basic hive at the old location and, presuming that they occupy it, then close up the entrance at dusk and then move the hive, placing it beside the new location and do the foliage trick.

Others, more experienced, may have better ideas.

Good luck.

 

[alancooper]

It's a bit late now since you've already moved them but the method I've learned and used is not the three feet or three miles one but the following.

In the evening when they are all in bed block up the entrance and either then or the following morning move the hive to the new location (150m in your case)
Leave the hive closed up for 1-2 days, then put some foliage in front of the entrance and release the bees. As they come out they will notice that their surroundings are different and they will re-orient to the new location.
Bingo!

But for you the question is what should you do with those few dozen bees?
Perhaps put a basic hive at the old location and, presuming that they occupy it, then close up the entrance at dusk and then move the hive, placing it beside the new location and do the foliage trick.

Others, more experienced, may have better ideas.

Good luck.

Well - relocation was six weeks ago. The entrance of the moved swarm hive was sealed for a couple of days at the time then opened. The distance was irrelevant. I was so surprised that some of the bees had not forgotten the original site that I wondered if anyone else had experienced it.
I did consider if the bees could have been from another colony scouting for a potential site to swarm to but they were clustering, the site was a wood pile and swarming at this time of the is unlikely.