I installed 5 packages of bees on 14 April. 3 hives are at the edge of my garden. I think I placed one to close to the trees. It doesn?t get full sunlight until almost 11am. The bees in that hive seem to get a later start to the day. On the other hand April is almost gone and Alabama summer heat is just around the corner.
Should I attempt to move it a few feet?
The summer sun will not hurt it at all, as long as the entrance is large enough for them to ventilate the hive. Too little sun will attract SHB. Full sun all day will repel SHB.
Quote from: iddee on April 24, 2016, 02:29:17 PM
The summer sun will not hurt it at all, as long as the entrance is large enough for them to ventilate the hive. Too little sun will attract SHB. Full sun all day will repel SHB.
Thank You, I'll put it on my garden cart so I can move it 30ft or so over the next couple of weeks, 2 or 3ft each move.
No need for that. Move it all the way at once if the origin and destination both are closer than the next hive. Put something in front of the entrance to make them reorientate. The few that go back will take up with the nearest hive, so it needs to be closer to the origin than the other hives.
Once they return to the old site they'll sniff out the hive by flying in circles.
I got the hive moved tonight. It still isn?t where it needs to be but it is better. It will get sunlight almost 2 hours sooner in the mornings. It is the closest hive to the original location by 30ft. So any bees that gets lost should find this hive first.
I leaned and inner cover against the front of the hive and a leafy sapling I cut so will have to reorientate. This inner cover is odd. It came from Dadant 4 years ago but it is for a different kind of hive. It?s almost 18 inches wide instead of 16. I don?t know if I ordered the wrong item or they shipped the wrong item. What ever the case I have 2 of them.
Thanks for the help iddee and GSF. :wink:
The hive isn't very active this morning. A dozen bees flying around the hive. I saw only one bee at the original hive site which I assume is a good thing.
Question, how long should I leave the objects in front of the hive?
>Question, how long should I leave the objects in front of the hive?
Anywhere from three days to three years... ;)
I sat and watched the hive for about 10 minutes this afternoon. Workers were bringing in lots of pollen. Which of course means the bees are not having a problem finding the hive in the new location... Thanks everyone! :smile: