Turning Hives

[ga5321]

I would like to turn my hives around 180 degrees on their stands.....purely to ease access later in the year. Can i do it now? Any thoughts?

 

[enrico]

If they are not flying and are not likely to be for a couple of weeks there should be no problem or you can do it a bit at a time if the stands allow it.
E

 

[ga5321]

Thank you for advice enrico

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

If you want to be safe, you could turn it two points (22 1/2 degrees) at a time every couple of days in case any bees get confused.But I think four points at a time is safe enough

 

[ga5321]

If you want to be safe, you could turn it two points (22 1/2 degrees) at a time every couple of days in case any bees get confused.But I think four points at a time is safe enough

Can the bees sense orientation without leaving the hives? Magnetic fields etc??

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

oh dear - let's not start that mullarkey it's doubtful otherwise they wouldn't need to re-orientate on a regular basis - even when they haven't moved.
Bees orientate nearly every day they leave the hive,they go out, buzz around a while getting their bearings then thin out; the problems start when you move the hive a little over three feet - then they'll just hunt around the space where the hive was. Just moving the entrance (as you are planning) would only mean them getting confused for a while before again finding the entrance which wouldn't be long if it's 'just next' to where it was yesterday, problem is, in this cold weather if you move the entrance too far (ie ninety or 180 degrees to where it was) by the time they find the entrance they may have chilled.

 

[deanrpwaacs]

I envisage all kinds of trouble once i move my hive to an orchard with a saxon mound that no doubt has a convergence of ley lines beneath it .

 

[ga5321]

oh dear - let's not start that mullarkey it's doubtful otherwise they wouldn't need to re-orientate on a regular basis - even when they haven't moved.
Bees orientate nearly every day they leave the hive,they go out, buzz around a while getting their bearings then thin out; the problems start when you move the hive a little over three feet - then they'll just hunt around the space where the hive was. Just moving the entrance (as you are planning) would only mean them getting confused for a while before again finding the entrance which wouldn't be long if it's 'just next' to where it was yesterday, problem is, in this cold weather if you move the entrance too far (ie ninety or 180 degrees to where it was) by the time they find the entrance they may have chilled.

Thank you...sensible advice.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

I envisage all kinds of trouble once i move my hive to an orchard with a saxon mound that no doubt has a convergence of ley lines beneath it .

Only if the spirits of the ancestors are disturbed by the bees

 

[Binge]

the problems start when you move the hive a little over three feet - then they'll just hunt around the space where the hive was.

Not necessarily, as long as you get them to re-orientate again. Grass in front of the entrance or a branch in front of the hive will do the trick.
If it's cold enough and they haven't been flying, then you should be fine anyway as they'll re-orientate again when they next emerge.

 

[Softley]

What Binge said. Now is the best time to do it as the weather is cold and they shouldn't have been flying - they'll re-orientate when they next emerge.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Not necessarily, as long as you get them to re-orientate again. Grass in front of the entrance or a branch in front of the hive will do the trick.

Ah yes - the magic twigs, forgotten about them - it's a pity really that twigs hadn't been invented when the three mile three feet rule was formulated.

 

[Binge]

But, no, not magic twigs, or magic grass!
When we used this method in the summer, they were very near to hand.
Now, the magic 3 feet to 3 mile rule does just seem like superstition.
Unless you weigh the hives before and after moving, there's no way of proving that all the bees you transported 3 miles stayed put.
I know ours did, over 20 metres, we lost about 20 and that was because we didn't move them early enough in the morning and some were already out foraging.
Try it, rather than knocking it, then if you have evidence to the contrary, all well and good.
It was a simple solution to our problem that worked very well.

 

[Tremyfro]

Ah...the great thing about that so called 'rule'....is that when you move a hive 3 miles...any bees that fly out and don't reorientate are lost within that 3 miles ...never to be seen again...how would you know...even if a 1000 bees were lost?
It is only when you move them a short distance that you can see the returners...as the bees still recognise their home ground.
I recently moved a hive 150 yards...no returners...no obstacles in front of the hive....no moving 3 feet at a time...just moved it to the new location. I waited until we finally had a frost. Last year I moved a hive in the spring....about a cupful of returners.....

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Try it, rather than knocking it,

I have - it sometimes works, sometimes doesn't
So maybe you should think twice before telling inexperienced beginners that it is a failsafe method.
And, tremyfro, if you'd red the previous posts correctly you would see that the OP was told to wait until a decent cold period then there would be no worries about turning or moving a short distance

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Ah...the great thing about that so called 'rule'....is that when you move a hive 3 miles...any bees that fly out and don't reorientate are lost within that 3 miles

I wish you wouldn't make such nonsensical statements - the issue is they may within three miles, 'remember' forage areas they visited when the hive was at the old location then return there instead of the new one even though they have orientated to the new location
The three mile rule is not a hard and fast rule but a guide to the thinking beekeepers among us (not unlike the magic twigs really) - it's very dependent on forage density and location in relation to the hive and general topography as well as weather - where I am (depending on what month in the season) I can get away with much less - sometimes

 

[Tremyfro]

I see you are still smarting from the 'long hive' argument you created. Mainly, you have great information to impart but lacing it with personal put downs doesn't endear you to new beekeepers.
I did read the previous posts....I only said what I had done....I didn't advise or suggest anyone follow my actions.
You are so ready to jump down my throat. It was you who said it was a rule...which of course it isn't...it's a guideline.
I am aware of the influence of forage, topography and the ability of bees to follow flight lines which they have used before.
My point is that you don't know how many bees are lost when you move them away from their normal flight areas.....they are just...lost. If you move them so far that there is no chance of them crossing familiar terrain...how do you know how many don't return to the new hive position? You may see the bees reorientate...but you don't know if they come back.
However, when you move them a shorter distance there is a higher chance of them returning...if they come across areas they recognise and are then able to follow routes back to the old hive position.
Moving them a very short distance...such as the moves I have made...you can be SURE of seeing any returners....and that is what I said.
I really don't know why I bother answering you....you are so intent on creating an argument .....about anything.

 

[linoleum bonypart]

I moved mine the same time as Trem ....in that last frost...no returners.

 

[Binge]

I have - it sometimes works, sometimes doesn't
So maybe you should think twice before telling inexperienced beginners that it is a failsafe method.

I'm sorry to have to correct you, but I didn't suggest it was a "failsafe" method.
I was just suggesting an alternative to your assertion that moving a hive might cause difficulties.