New Splits, need to be moved yes or no?

[MarkT]

When making new splits, is it better to move them to a new yard or leave in the yard with the original hive,

if you do need to move them day?

or come back that night?

I made a few splits and left them in the same yard, about 15 ft from the original hive, looks like quite a few bees left to return back, I had shakin in all the bees off the cover and 3 extra frames.

Suggestions?

[sc-bee]

A lot of folks leave them in same yard, for me it seems better to load them immediately and take the split away. Old queen in split. If you leave plenty young bees in split you can leave it in the same yard. I can't seem to get the hang of it and I have a second yard nearby.

I  move during day- soon after split before they start drifting.

 I definitely see the advantage to leaving them in the same yard if they are big splits. Go to MB's pages plenty info on splits and leaving them in same yard. As I said I like to move them cause I usually split to nucs and they are small.

[sc-bee]

I looked back and see you are new to the forum- Welcome.

I referred to MB's pages.
Michael Bush (MB) is a beekeeper and mentor here on the site who has posted tons of info. A lot of it can be found here:

http://www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm

The split info is here:

http://www.bushfarms.com/beessplits.htm

Good Luck!

[JWChesnut]

Move the **old hive** 15-20 feet.  The new split is left to collect foragers.  Otherwise face the hives porch to porch, and let the bees decide, but move the orientation of the old colony, and use the original location for the split.  

On Day 7 (i.e. when the queen is out of the cage, and all is right with the world), I move the splits to a new out-yard.  I do this to keep the young colonies even aged for management, and to reduce robbing by the big established colonies on the weak splits.  I also do it because I hate moving full colonies, and to establish an outyard moving light boxes is so much easier.

[Evan W]

This was my first year making nucs and splits. Nucs turned out great but splits were slow. Why, because when I kept everything in the same bee yard. All the forgers left the split and oriented back to their original hive. I had to give the split more nurse bees. I am not saying you have to move the split, just keep an eye on it and understand this could / will happen.

The split is doing fine now, live and learn.  :-D

[Santa Caras]

If a split is made and the new hive moved 3 miles or more away, how long before this same hive could be moved back to it's orginal yard and maintain it's idenity?

[BeeMaster2]

If a split is made and the new hive moved 3 miles or more away, how long before this same hive could be moved back to it's orginal yard and maintain it's idenity?

3 weeks. After 3 weeks the field bees that have a memory of the old location will be dead.
Jim

[Evan W]

I have heard and read multiple places that bees only have 3 to 4 day memory span.

[Michael Bush]

>When making new splits, is it better to move them to a new yard or leave in the yard with the original hive,

You will have less drifting if you do.  It's not necessarily "better".  it's more work.  I've never done it.  I make my splits right next to the original hive.

>if you do need to move them day?

If you insist, then move them right after you split them.  If you wait the drifting will already have taken place.

>or come back that night?

There will be no point then.

>I made a few splits and left them in the same yard, about 15 ft from the original hive, looks like quite a few bees left to return back, I had shakin in all the bees off the cover and 3 extra frames.

Basically you need to shake bees in until the split has twice as many bees as you want it to have.  About half will return to the old hive.  Or don't have a hive at the old location.  That way they can't drift back to it.  :)

>Suggestions?

Set two bottom boards on each side of the original hive facing the sides of the original hive.  Split the hive onto the two bottom boards.  Remove the old bottom board.  They can't drift back to the original location because there is no hive there...

[cdevier]

I have seen that info on bees remembering 3-4 days  .  Don't believe it.  Bees remember a lot longer.

Even after a week there de a lot of drifting.  Go with the 2-3 weeks.
M. bush has lots of great info.
Charlie

[Wolfer]

I don't worry about drifting. I put extra capped brood in the queen less part. The nurse bees won't leave the open brood and in 9 days or less ill have all the bees I need. Since I let mine raise their own queen these bees will be waiting when she starts laying.
If the parent hive can't spare a frame of capped brood it's not strong enough to split IMO.

[TwoHoneys]

I'm with Wolfer.

-Liz