Well that sucks

[Nige.Coll]

My apiary is a little short on space due to expansion at a silly rate.
Today I found 2 new queens dead due to trying to enter the wrong hives. That's 4 weeks I won't get back. One corpse still had the drones bits stuck to it .
I have spare queens but that's not the point it is very annoying.

Does painting hives different colours stop this or adding coloured shapes to the front of the hives ?

 

[BeeJayBee]

Does painting hives different colours stop this or adding coloured shapes to the front of the hives ?

I think so, so does giving them landing boards with a different pattern on each one.

 

[Goran]

My apiary is a little short on space due to expansion at a silly rate.
Today I found 2 new queens dead due to trying to enter the wrong hives. That's 4 weeks I won't get back. One corpse still had the drones bits stuck to it .
I have spare queens but that's not the point it is very annoying.

Does painting hives different colours stop this or adding coloured shapes to the front of the hives ?

I started to use white, blue, yellow, red markers in front of mating nucs right to one side of entrance of it. For now seems queens successfully mate and return to hive. Also I put on few as obstacle marker in front of entrance, so they have to little maneuver to get in the hive. Same.
Marker - stick plastic/wooden with some colored part or just plastic shop bag wrapped around it.

I am in belief that helps ( or bees think of me - what a idiot..).
I started to use it after reading some books and in talks with some beeks..

 

[Duchy]

My apiary is a little short on space due to expansion at a silly rate.
Today I found 2 new queens dead due to trying to enter the wrong hives. That's 4 weeks I won't get back. One corpse still had the drones bits stuck to it .
I have spare queens but that's not the point it is very annoying.

Does painting hives different colours stop this or adding coloured shapes to the front of the hives ?

you need to put the hives at different angles, so the entrances face in slightly different directions (ie semi circle), as far as I know...

 

[madasafish]

I have 10 hives in a semi circle spread over 10 meters. All face slightly different ways.. Some are different shapes and sizes or differing shades of green or brown.No apparent problems...

Variety makes a difference. (See modern housing estates where it is easy to be confused as to which box you live in)

 

[Nige.Coll]

Large can of cuprinol so all but 2 hives are the same colour. Wasn't a problem when they were in different sites.
Now i've had to put them all in 1 site this has happened.
It's not a major disaster just another problem on the list lol.
Worst case i'll have to unite those 2 with some others.
Too many hives in my first year i suppose. It's all part of the learning curve.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Just number the hives - that should help a bit

 

[alldigging]

Just number the hives - that should help a bit

They are only a quid at th0rnes.

 

[Nige.Coll]

got someone making me some 5 inch square coloured laminated cards with numbers on. that will help i guess

 

[dpearce4]

I didn't know bees could read numbers. that's better than some of the pupils I work with. haha

 

[enrico]

Some of my hives are less than six inches apart, the roofs touch! Never noticed a problem!
E