RoseCottage
Field Bee
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2009
- Messages
- 718
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Near Andover, UK
- Hive Type
- WBC
- Number of Hives
- From 5 to 2 and hopefully a better year
So I should start by stating I am in my third year as a trainee beekeeper. I only have a small number of hives. So my practical knowledge is limited. I recognise this.
But I am feeling a little frisky tonight and think that the thread that may follow could help others in the future - when searching the forum for advice on moves.
At some time or other a reasonable proportion of newish beekeepers have to face the dilemma of moving hives to locations less than 3 miles away. Naturally they panic about whether they need to find a temporary out apiary for a month and worry about how to prepare for the move.
Often the move is forced on them by unforeseen circumstances (usually inexperience makes them legitimately blind). This describes my experience.
They have read the books and have heard of the 3 feet or 3 mile rule and so feel pressured. I did.
I want to try and help them to make an informed decision about what to do. If I fail then others may add to the thread.
Usually these 'rules' are not to be trifled with but usually they need clarification too. We know that bees have a wide foraging distance and that 3 miles is well within range but often bees forage in a smaller range if possible. We know they learn the lie of the land and carry some form of mental map of the landscape and can adjust for the time of day and can still locate home.
But whether you can move a colony directly to a new location under 3 miles away depends on a number of factors, I have found. All of which need assessing for your own circumstances. Understanding these issues will help you determine the best course of action for your situation.
Landscape
One of the biggest influences is the landscape between the two locations. If there are open fields with limited hedges between the locations you are more likely to have bees return to the old hive location than if there are more complex structures in the way. The topology is easier to read and the amount of energy needed to overcome or navigate through barriers is relatively low.
I moved two strong colonies 1 mile without issue and with only a few returning bees. My landscape consisted of a local spinney, open fields, and a dense layer of woodland some 500 yards deep at a distance of 500 yards from the new location. There was considerable effort required by the bees to navigate through/over the woodland and reach the old location. Most found alternative employment locally and didn't use their energy up trying to go 'home'.
The nature of the landscape is tied to the available forage.
Forage
If there is an abundance of forage near to the new location and a complex landscape it seems the bees make an easy decision to stay local. Again they have no need to expend all their energy seeking the old location.
If you move your colonies to a new location try and choose one with good forage. If you don't have OSR, Beans, etc you may even cheat a little by giving the bees some feed after the move so keeping a proportion very local indeed. You are trying to maximise the strength of the foragers within the colony.
You need to consider the desirability of local forage to persuade your bees to stay local.
Strength of colony
There are two aspects of this you need to consider - total size and size of sealed brood.
You need to consider whether your colony is strong enough to keep the brood nest warm if a proportion of foragers were lost (in a sense similar to a swarm). If you have a strong colony then if other factors are not ideal you may still choose to make a direct move as you may have a big enough colony to cope with some losses or it may be better to be cautious if the colony is small.
The amount of capped brood is important too. If you have a large amount then your bees may recover from a poor move (should it come to that) more quickly by releasing bees to become foragers sooner. So helping with the adjustment to the new location.
The size of the colony will be affected by the time of the year.
Time of year
This has an impact on the amount of forage, the size of the colony, and the average temperature and weather.
If you can make the move in spring with OSR then that is great if your bees are suffering a June gap then perhaps a direct move will carry more risk.
If the colony numbers are low either because it is spring or late Autumn then this adds risk to a direct move.
Oddly enough a direct move in bad weather seems often to be a benefit. A few days of confinement seems to help them re-orientate...well it seemed that way with my bees. Placing a bushy branch over the entrance thus forcing the bees up into the air helps them re-orientate at their new location too. I remove it after about 4 days.
So if you consider these factors for your situation it may well be possible to determine the level of risk associated with a direct move of less than 3 miles. Rather than always try to find a distant out apiary you may choose to make a direct move and know what to expect. If you are forced into such a move then assessing these factors may help you plan contingencies or put your mind at ease.
I have done 2 sets of less than 3 mile direct moves and have been very successful. Clearly it isn't my years of experience and I am not the bee whisperer so what was it?
It wasn't luck but rather the combination of landscape, time of year and forage. My second set of moves were 1.5 miles to a location with OSR on the doorstep. Not a single bee was found from 2 hives back at the original location. The bees had no reason to struggle away from their immediate vicinity.
I hope that this helps you assess your moves and think about what might influence the success of your move. I am sure there are other factors too but this is my starter for 10.
All the best,
Sam
But I am feeling a little frisky tonight and think that the thread that may follow could help others in the future - when searching the forum for advice on moves.
At some time or other a reasonable proportion of newish beekeepers have to face the dilemma of moving hives to locations less than 3 miles away. Naturally they panic about whether they need to find a temporary out apiary for a month and worry about how to prepare for the move.
Often the move is forced on them by unforeseen circumstances (usually inexperience makes them legitimately blind). This describes my experience.
They have read the books and have heard of the 3 feet or 3 mile rule and so feel pressured. I did.
I want to try and help them to make an informed decision about what to do. If I fail then others may add to the thread.
Usually these 'rules' are not to be trifled with but usually they need clarification too. We know that bees have a wide foraging distance and that 3 miles is well within range but often bees forage in a smaller range if possible. We know they learn the lie of the land and carry some form of mental map of the landscape and can adjust for the time of day and can still locate home.
But whether you can move a colony directly to a new location under 3 miles away depends on a number of factors, I have found. All of which need assessing for your own circumstances. Understanding these issues will help you determine the best course of action for your situation.
Landscape
One of the biggest influences is the landscape between the two locations. If there are open fields with limited hedges between the locations you are more likely to have bees return to the old hive location than if there are more complex structures in the way. The topology is easier to read and the amount of energy needed to overcome or navigate through barriers is relatively low.
I moved two strong colonies 1 mile without issue and with only a few returning bees. My landscape consisted of a local spinney, open fields, and a dense layer of woodland some 500 yards deep at a distance of 500 yards from the new location. There was considerable effort required by the bees to navigate through/over the woodland and reach the old location. Most found alternative employment locally and didn't use their energy up trying to go 'home'.
The nature of the landscape is tied to the available forage.
Forage
If there is an abundance of forage near to the new location and a complex landscape it seems the bees make an easy decision to stay local. Again they have no need to expend all their energy seeking the old location.
If you move your colonies to a new location try and choose one with good forage. If you don't have OSR, Beans, etc you may even cheat a little by giving the bees some feed after the move so keeping a proportion very local indeed. You are trying to maximise the strength of the foragers within the colony.
You need to consider the desirability of local forage to persuade your bees to stay local.
Strength of colony
There are two aspects of this you need to consider - total size and size of sealed brood.
You need to consider whether your colony is strong enough to keep the brood nest warm if a proportion of foragers were lost (in a sense similar to a swarm). If you have a strong colony then if other factors are not ideal you may still choose to make a direct move as you may have a big enough colony to cope with some losses or it may be better to be cautious if the colony is small.
The amount of capped brood is important too. If you have a large amount then your bees may recover from a poor move (should it come to that) more quickly by releasing bees to become foragers sooner. So helping with the adjustment to the new location.
The size of the colony will be affected by the time of the year.
Time of year
This has an impact on the amount of forage, the size of the colony, and the average temperature and weather.
If you can make the move in spring with OSR then that is great if your bees are suffering a June gap then perhaps a direct move will carry more risk.
If the colony numbers are low either because it is spring or late Autumn then this adds risk to a direct move.
Oddly enough a direct move in bad weather seems often to be a benefit. A few days of confinement seems to help them re-orientate...well it seemed that way with my bees. Placing a bushy branch over the entrance thus forcing the bees up into the air helps them re-orientate at their new location too. I remove it after about 4 days.
So if you consider these factors for your situation it may well be possible to determine the level of risk associated with a direct move of less than 3 miles. Rather than always try to find a distant out apiary you may choose to make a direct move and know what to expect. If you are forced into such a move then assessing these factors may help you plan contingencies or put your mind at ease.
I have done 2 sets of less than 3 mile direct moves and have been very successful. Clearly it isn't my years of experience and I am not the bee whisperer so what was it?
It wasn't luck but rather the combination of landscape, time of year and forage. My second set of moves were 1.5 miles to a location with OSR on the doorstep. Not a single bee was found from 2 hives back at the original location. The bees had no reason to struggle away from their immediate vicinity.
I hope that this helps you assess your moves and think about what might influence the success of your move. I am sure there are other factors too but this is my starter for 10.
All the best,
Sam
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