Uniting hives that are 100m apart

[RogerJ]

I would like (if possible) to unite two hives that are approximately 100m apart. Is there a way to do this without slowly moving the one hive closer to the other (3ft at at time would take an age!)?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

prepare everything in advance (newspaper and QX in place over the 'receiving' hive - i.e. the one that isn't moving, then roof replaced until later) then last thing in the evening remove roof from the receiving hive and swiftly lift up the other hive, move it over and put it on top of the receiving hive.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes do it in the evening when the bees have stopped flying. The box on top will re orientate once they are through the newspaper

 

[RogerJ]

Great - thanks both very much.

 

[jeff33]

Don't do it too much in advance or the receiving hive will have started chewing through the newspaper, it happened to me and add to add more newspaper which I luckily had left by the hive.

 

[user 20297]

On average, how long does it take for the bees to chomp through newspaper?

 

[jeff33]

On average, how long does it take for the bees to chomp through newspaper?

Overnight. Some beeks 'help them' a bit by doing small holes in the paper, I don't bother.

 

[elainemary]

I would like (if possible) to unite two hives that are approximately 100m apart. Is there a way to do this without slowly moving the one hive closer to the other (3ft at at time would take an age!)?

You may find a few flyers orientate back to their original position. Place a Nuc with an empty drawn brood comb in (no stores) in the original position of the hive you have moved and collect the bees each evening. Shake out at dusk in front of the new hive position. After a few days all will have oriented to the new position.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

with only a hundred yards between the two sites, the absence of a hive in one location will soon have the bees finding their new home again no need to over engineer the whole process.

 

[enrico]

In my experience, if you put a nuc on the site they will go to it, if you don't they will find somewhere else to go. I leave the old site totally empty of anything that looked familiar!