Brian, awe, that is a bummer about the "lost hive bees. I still wonder if they will eventually figure out where they live? I hope that they do, do you think that it is possible that they will? I am curious. I always remember you saying that the bees surprise us alot.
I also remember reading somewhere, maybe on this forum, that when the hives are moved it is a good idea to put something infront of their hive that forces them to orient to their new location. For example, a bunch of grass stuck on the front of the bottomboard or a tree branch, something that makes them really observe their new location.
I am also curious why this hive you are speaking about did not perform orientation flight.
I remember that one of the good characteristics of the Carniolan is that they are extremely good orienters, and that they rarely drift from hive to hive and do not rob hives. Some of the good characteristics of this breed of bees. I have one hive that is still Carniolan. The queen from last year has not been superceded and she is still laying really really well. It is kind of cool to see this one hive that has such dark bees, the other hives being very light in colour, Italians
I hope all works out well, have a wonderful day, great life. Cindi