Will a swarm drift back to old hive?

Bighead · April 06, 2011, 08:05:55 PM

I hived a swarm today and was wondering if the swarm would drift back to the original hive 50 yards away?

JP · April 06, 2011, 08:26:33 PM

Sounds like perhaps you witnessed it, did you?

...JP

Bighead · April 06, 2011, 08:31:43 PM

No the old mind just stated to wondering.

backyard warrior · April 06, 2011, 08:59:04 PM

If it were me i would either move the hive to another location or alot of times i will put a queen excluder on top of the bottom board so the queen wont leave and therefore the bees wont leave either without the queen. Once she starts laying eggs and they have brood i take the excluder off at that time.

FRAMEshift · April 06, 2011, 09:22:33 PM

Warrior, have you tried just adding a frame of brood from another hive rather than an includer? That would seem simpler and you wouldn't be trapping drones.

backyard warrior · April 07, 2011, 06:15:19 PM

Yes that would work too. Either move the hive more than five miles away for a week or so, or take the old queen with the new nuc and a few frames of open brood with pollen and honey this will work as well thats what id do. I dont think id take a frame from another hive if all possible if that hive has any mites or diseases youd infect the new hive if you take a frame from the split hive thats fine.

Brian D. Bray · April 10, 2011, 10:19:28 PM

The bees that have already worked as foragers will return most likely return to the old hive location when placed so close to the parent hive, depleating the swarms work force at a critical time. One device that will lessen this tendency in swarms and splits when there is no other option than to relocate within the same bee yard, is to reverse the orientation of the hive when it is first placed in position. If the parent hive was orientated in a southernly direction, orient the swarm/split in a northerly direction for a few days. The sunlight will strike the hive entrance in such a different way than the old hive that a large portion of the foraging bees will reorientate before leaving the hive. That tendency can be inproved by placing some obsticale at the entrance of the hive, say reduce the hive entrance in sone way, using a reducer or splitting the entrance by plugging the center.

After a few days the hive can be turned 180 degrees without loss of bees, they will easily find the entrance.