I have some hives that are in sun, but they get into afternoon shade too early for my preference. I have read about moving hives miles or inches. What if I move them in January when everyone is inside? Can I move them 50 yards then?
YES, with no problems if it stays cold for 3 or more days afterward.
If they have been confined for 72 hours a move usually works fine in winter as they will reorient. I they were out yesterday, though, and you move them and it gets warm enough for them to go out and then turns cold, they may not have time to find the new location before the cold does them in. All in all, I feel safer doing it when the weather is warm. I would move them the 50 yards, put something in front of the entrances to get them to reorient and call it good. They will be confused for a day or two, but they will sort it all out.
http://bushfarms.com/beesmoving.htm#between (http://bushfarms.com/beesmoving.htm#between)
Pond Creek,
Great question! I have been thinking the same thing. Here in Colorado come December, January, February...my bees will not fly for weeks at a time. That is when I plan to move them.
john
If you move the hive while it's still warm, my experience is to move it the 3 ft at a time until they're far from other hives they sit next to. Once they're 20 or 30 ft away the foragers "drift" less to the next door hives. I move them at night, and put an obstacle with some turns over the entrance. When they crawl through it in the morning, they'll reorient.
This June, I had some foragers hanging around the spot the nuc box was in for a few hours. Then it was like they had always been where I put them, about 100 ft.
You're braver than I am CapnChkn!
I would be afraid of tripping on something in the dark, the hive breaking open, and bees crawling all over me from head to toe. :(
Actually to move the hive, lots of rope and a Wheelbarrow. To move the nuc, I have blocks of wood cut to plug the holes. You do bring up a point I didn't consider, the weight of their hives. You may be braver than me, if not, maybe smarter.
I use Rachet Straps and moving screens over entrances and move mine at night as well. However, I have moved them short distances using sticks and leaves in front of the entrance to cause reorientation as well.
I moved bees from one side of the house to the other and kept them in for 3 days, put obstacles in front of the hive and then released. I had thousands of bees going back to the old location. It was awful. I was carrying bees back to the new location for 3 days. They eventually settled in but it was a little stressful.
I brought two hives in my VW last week up to my house from the flats, they travelled real nice! Two straps and I put a little screen on the front and tape it down with strapping tape. That was a 4 mile move.
Robbing screens work real well as a re-orientation guide. A different entrance will make them investigate the hive's location when they find the exit