Moving hives

[taztiger]

G'day all
Just a quick question. I bought another hive two weeks ago from a farmer who lived only about 1km from my other hives in Sheffield. That being the case i brought the hive back to my home 20kms away and placed it in a position which is not ideal (not enough sun,fairly shady). How long do i need to wait before i can take the hive back to my other hives?
It's currently a sunny 8c today here in Tassie. The bees that are in the sun are out working bringing back some pollen from something.

cheers Taz

[philinacoma]

Hi Taz,

Long enough for the current batch of foragers to croak it. Maybe a month and a half to 2...depending on how hard the whip is cracking on them.

[iddee]

Move them again after 3 days....

[philinacoma]

What's the thinking on 3 days?

[iddee]

The time it takes bees to forget. Lock your bees in for 3 days. When released, they will immediately reorient.

[The Bix]

I need to move two hives about 120 yards away from their current location.  I was planning to move them today about 3 miles away, then move them back to the new / permanent location next week.  Could I, as an option, just lock them in the hive today, move them 120 yards away, then on Saturday reopen?

[iddee]

You can move them tonight, then block the entrance, but not fully, and they will be ok. Lean a half sheet of plywood against the front, fill the entrance with grass, lay a leafy limb or two across the entrance, etc.

There may be some that return to the original site, but will find the hive within a couple days.