Temporarily Re-locating hives.

[splitrock]

2 Questions,

I need to move a few hives to a location a mile and a half from home. I plan on just setting them on one of my trucks and parking them about 6 miles away before I bring them to where I'd like them for the season. How long should I keep them at the temporary location before re-locating?

Also, I've read where some just place an obstacle or obstruction in front of newly re-located hives to get them to orientate. Where I'd like to keep them again for the summer is a large, very heavily multi-treed, landscaping plantation, much different than their current prairie grass location just the mile and a half away. Would it be possible to skip the re-locating step by making sure they had plenty of reason to orientate when they left the hive, or in this situation should I just plan on re-locating them for a spell?

Joel

[FRAMEshift]

2 Questions,

I need to move a few hives to a location a mile and a half from home. I plan on just setting them on one of my trucks and parking them about 6 miles away before I bring them to where I'd like them for the season. How long should I keep them at the temporary location before re-locating?

Two days of flying weather should get them all re-oriented.   

Also, I've read where some just place an obstacle or obstruction in front of newly re-located hives to get them to orientate. Where I'd like to keep them again for the summer is a large, very heavily multi-treed, landscaping plantation, much different than their current prairie grass location just the mile and a half away. Would it be possible to skip the re-locating step by making sure they had plenty of reason to orientate when they left the hive, or in this situation should I just plan on re-locating them for a spell?

I thought the temp location was a clever idea, but if it's lots of trouble for you to do that, you could partially block the entrance to encourage re-orientation.  In that case, I would leave one hive at the original location to catch the returnees.

[tefer2]

I gave up moving them back and forth. I just put them where I want, add a limb with leaves in front of the entrance. The ones that hang around the old location will find a new home. Not more than a hand full anyway.

[FRAMEshift]

Not more than a hand full anyway.

splitrock, you could test tefer2's theory by moving a hive across your beeyard and putting foliage in front of the entrance.  Then place a box with a few frames of drawn comb in place of the moved hive.  You will see how many return to the original site and how many will reorient due to the entrance block.  I think it will be more than a handfull that return to the old location.

If this was just an across the beeyard move you were planning, I wouldn't worry since you would still catch all the drifters in another hive in the same yard.  But if you move all your hives 1.5 miles away, I think you will lose a significant number of bees.

[ajharwood]

I have heard atleast 3 days.  3 weeks is best.

[FRAMEshift]

I have heard atleast 3 days.  3 weeks is best.

Bees have an orientation memory of about 3 days so if you just lock them up that long they will re-orient when they come out again.  But I think all the active foragers will have re-oriented before that.

Not sure why three weeks is relevant.

[tefer2]

They would be hanging around the old location cause you left that box with drawn comb for them. Could be, you didn't use a big enough branch. They should have to fly around it to get in or out!
If there is nothing at the old stand, the stranglers will join other hives. 

[FRAMEshift]

Right.  I was thinking the OP wanted to move all the hives out of the beeyard.  So I suggested leaving one to catch returnees.  If there are still other hives in that beeyard, it would not be necessary to have a hive at any particular stand.