Author Topic: moving hives short distances (Read 4077 times)

SlickMick · « **on:** March 03, 2009, 04:22:47 pm »

I have to move 2 nucs about 6-10 metres and wondered how I should go about this. I had heard that if I wanted to move them short distances I would be best to move then over 1 mile and then bring them back to the new position a week later.

What do you think would be the least confusing to the girls?

mgmoore7 · « **Reply #1 on:** March 03, 2009, 06:12:59 pm »

Move them at night and put some stuff in at the entrance such as leaves, branches, twigs, grass, etc. That will trigger them to reorient.

RayMarler · « **Reply #2 on:** March 03, 2009, 09:29:31 pm »

I've moved mine a few feet to few yards. I put a small 1x2 board across the front entrance so they have to fly up over it to exit. It makes them reorient. Move them in the twilight just after sunset.

JP · « **Reply #3 on:** March 03, 2009, 09:45:11 pm »

You could move them both in one day's time since its just a short distance.

Start in the morning and move them a couple of feet at a time, wait 30 minutes between moves (or when you've seen them orient to the new location) Have a friend or a loved one with you. Y'all can shoot the breeze or whatever between moves.

...JP

Beaver Dam · « **Reply #4 on:** March 03, 2009, 09:51:27 pm »

I tried the stuff in front of the enterance, didn't work. lots of lost bees,ended up taking back to old location. Now just moving a couple of feet a day.

iddee · « **Reply #5 on:** March 03, 2009, 11:54:51 pm »

[quote author=RayMarler Move them in the twilight just after sunset.

That is all I do. There may be some at the old spot the first night, but by the second night they will have found their home. Moving is made to be much more complicated than it needs to be.

Understudy · « **Reply #6 on:** March 04, 2009, 12:08:48 am »

Quote from: mgmoore7 on March 03, 2009, 06:12:59 pm

Move them at night and put some stuff in at the entrance such as leaves, branches, twigs, grass, etc. That will trigger them to reorient.

Absolutely correct.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

SlickMick · « **Reply #7 on:** March 04, 2009, 07:20:57 am »

Thanks guys for that info.

Attention, girls, tomorrow evening your homes are moving.

Mick

JP · « **Reply #8 on:** March 04, 2009, 09:22:47 am »

Mick, good luck with the move. Moving them either after or before daylight will work. Putting a branch or twigs or some other obstruction in front of the entrance will have them reorienting, but the method I suggested is the most fun, if you have half a day to fart around with.

This is why its fun. You can move a hive a few feet and watch the foragers come back to where the hive used to be, they really believe the hive is still where it was, its an interesting thing to watch and comical at the same time. Once they orient to the new location, you can move them again and again.

Of course I don't know your schedule, how busy you are with things. Have a good one Mick.

...JP

SlickMick · « **Reply #9 on:** March 04, 2009, 09:21:16 pm »

Yeah JP it really is quite comical. I tried the move a bit and wait the other day and watched as hundreds of the gals flew around in utter confusion. :shock: Eventually I took pity on them and moved the box back. Boy were those ladies relieved to know that someone had not in fact stolen their home. Just proves that I am a soft touch :roll:

JP · « **Reply #10 on:** March 04, 2009, 11:38:16 pm »

How long did you wait until you couldn't take it any more and gave in and moved them back to the original spot?

...JP

SlickMick · « **Reply #11 on:** March 05, 2009, 01:01:23 am »

Maybe half an hour JP. Perhaps I should have waited longer but as I said I am a bit of a softie :-D

Brian D. Bray · « **Reply #12 on:** March 05, 2009, 01:20:26 am »

When moving the hive a short distance, 10-100m, a lot of the foragers will return to the original hive sight regardless. Even when using some obstacle to block the entrance for reorientation, the bees won't always do it, so the go back where the hive was. Usually those foragers will buxx around in a ever larger circle until they locate the hives new location. On a short move it usually takes about 2 days for the bees to fully orientate to the new location and a few never do.

SlickMick · « **Reply #13 on:** March 05, 2009, 05:10:56 am »

Moved the girls this evening and placed a sprig of rosemary across the entry to try and encourage orientation. Also placed some other things (white bucket, plastic bag) on hives so that they can tell they are in a different environment.

They did not like the insertion of borax sandwiches (Fatbeeman style for SHB) through the entries. It will be interesting to see how the borax sandwiches go.

It will also be interesting to see how the girls handle the move. :?

jdpro5010 · « **Reply #14 on:** March 05, 2009, 02:07:27 pm »

Quote from: JP on March 04, 2009, 09:22:47 am

Mick, good luck with the move. Moving them either after or before daylight will work. Putting a branch or twigs or some other obstruction in front of the entrance will have them reorienting, but the method I suggested is the most fun, if you have half a day to fart around with.

This is why its fun. You can move a hive a few feet and watch the foragers come back to where the hive used to be, they really believe the hive is still where it was, its an interesting thing to watch and comical at the same time. Once they orient to the new location, you can move them again and again.

Of course I don't know your schedule, how busy you are with things. Have a good one Mick.

...JP

Sounds like somebody enjoys others pain a little too much for me. :-D

fermentedhiker · « **Reply #15 on:** March 05, 2009, 02:39:52 pm »

Quote from: jdpro5010 on March 05, 2009, 02:07:27 pm

Sounds like somebody enjoys others pain a little too much for me. :-D

[/quote]

The Germans have a word for it Schadenfreude defined on Wikipedia as;
pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others. The word referring to this emotion has been borrowed from German by the English language and is sometimes also used as a loanword by other languages.

Philosopher and sociologist Theodor Adorno defined schadenfreude as “largely unanticipated delight in the suffering of another which is cognized as trivial and/or appropriate.”

Two Bees · « **Reply #16 on:** March 10, 2009, 11:29:47 am »

Whew! Too much detail there!

Michael Bush · « **Reply #17 on:** March 10, 2009, 10:54:11 pm »

It takes more than a sprig of anything. Something that mostly blocks their way so they can't ignore it is what you want. Something that makes them stop and think where they are.

SlickMick · « **Reply #18 on:** March 10, 2009, 11:04:26 pm »

Yeah, Michael, the sprig covered the entire entrance and to get in and out it was like breaking through a barbed wire entanglement for them. They had to duck and weave to get through but were able to do so.

Michael Bush · « **Reply #19 on:** March 11, 2009, 07:14:35 pm »

A branch also makes a large landmark that catches their attention...