Moving a hive 5 metres

[JohnnyD]

Hi All

I need to move my hive in the garden by about 5 metres facing the same direction, can i do this in one move today ? We have just aquired a puppy, so i need to fence an area off.

Thanks

JohnnyD

 

[Winker]

Hi All

I need to move my hive in the garden by about 5 metres facing the same direction, can i do this in one move today ? We have just aquired a puppy, so i need to fence an area off.

Thanks

JohnnyD

all your flying bees will go back to their origonal site. Can you not leave the move until winter?

 

[drstitson]

what direction is the move relative to the hive? - if straight backwards one can do a bit more than the traditional 3 feet.

 

[JohnnyD]

It is forward unfortunately, but pointing in the same direction and the approach would be in line still with what it is currently

what direction is the move relative to the hive? - if straight backwards one can do a bit more than the traditional 3 feet.

 

[drstitson]

again you can probably get away with a bit more than in the textbook IF the major flight lines for your foragers are forwards from the hive entrance rather than up and to the sides or back.

 

[Gardenbees]

again you can probably get away with a bit more than in the textbook IF the major flight lines for your foragers are forwards from the hive entrance rather than up and to the sides or back.

today I moved one of my hives a metre or so to one side - facing the same way, and a little bit forward. There were a lot of bees flying this morning as it's nice and warm and sunny and there's still plenty of forage about. I watched them to see whether they looked lost. I was quite surprised that none of them showed any sign of having noticed the move, all returning straight into the usual entrance without hesitation. BUT all the bees in my apiary head off in the same direction every time, forwards from the entrances. Also, all the hives have different roofs and directions of entry. So for that particular colony I could probably have moved them further without losing any.

If I had moved them *and* faced them a different way, especially on a more open apiary, I suspect it would have taken them a lot longer to work things out.

 

[Winker]

I moved one of my hives 4-5 meters this year to the left, the flying bees went back to the original site and flew around in circles where there old BB used to be. They eventually drifted in to the hives either side, one of which was their own and the other wasn't, which caused a bit of a fight and i lost a few bees.

Its quite strange to watch, they just fly around an area the size of the BB as if it was still there but made of glass and they were flying around on the inside of it. This went on for a good week before they got used to the idea there home had moved.

 

[victor meldrew]

I moved one of my hives 4-5 meters this year to the left, the flying bees went back to the original site and flew around in circles where there old BB used to be. They eventually drifted in to the hives either side, one of which was their own and the other wasn't, which caused a bit of a fight and i lost a few bees.

Its quite strange to watch, they just fly around an area the size of the BB as if it was still there but made of glass and they were flying around on the inside of it. This went on for a good week before they got used to the idea there home had moved.

You only have to insert an entrance block to observe that behavior The older foragers arrive at the spot of previous access and then run along to find the restricted access , they never seem to learn and repeat this pattern every time they return to the hive

VM

 

[JohnnyD]

Well i have moved it, and.......there was a lot of bees going back to the same place, but less now, and there is activity at the new placing of the hive at the entrance, if they gather on some bricks near the old hive entrance area, should i move the bricks with bees near to the new hive entrance?

PS supers full of honey are very heavy

Hi All

I need to move my hive in the garden by about 5 metres facing the same direction, can i do this in one move today ? We have just aquired a puppy, so i need to fence an area off.

Thanks

JohnnyD