Moving my hive a little

[Jen]

I'm wanting to put my new hive on this same bench. I have read that you shouldn't move hives a little bit, but only 2 miles away.

Can I move this hive to the end of the bench and then place my new hive on the other side of the bench... and do all of that today?

[Perry]

2 feet or 2 miles! 2 (3) feet per day, or 2 miles and then back again after a week or so.
You could move them both and then force them to reorient by shoving sticks and grass in front of the entrances, but given that this one has just been through a lot, I would leave them alone for a week or so, and then move them slowly.

[iddee]

I would move the old one today, then leave the new one untouched for a week, as Perry said, then move them to the bench. It may take a day, but they will find home.

[Jen]

K....  So the new hive in still in our garage, do we leave it in our garage with the entrance open so the workers can come and go?

[barry42001]

Lol I find a way to move it out of the garage, allows them t reorient to where it is at that point in time. removing the old Hive off it's stand couple hundred yards. mostly this has to be done at night but then you seem to enjoy night ops lol

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[Jen]

Never mind!    Such a comedy of sorts here. 1:30pm I was just on my way outside to tell hubby to wait unitl dusk to move hive #1, when I got outside it was already shifted over a to the end of the bench, it only went about 1 foot so we're good.

[blueblood]

I predict you are going to have multiple hives before the season is over.  It is a sickness with no cure.
)

[tbonekel]

Jen, I recently built a new stand. The hives were on concrete blocks and I wanted one of those snazzy wooden stands. Anyway, I waited until after dark and moved the hives. Some moved about 3 feet, some 5-7 feet. I just put some grass in front of the opening and it seems to have worked well. The hives are now closer  together than they were and all seem happy.

[Jen]

tbone- That is exactly what Scott teaches as well, put something in front of the entrance so they can re-orient. And that's encouraging for me to place my new swarm hive out tomorrow night. Perfect!   

[tecumseh]

I am GUESSING that the entire grassy twiggy leafy thingee is largely an urban myth.  as far as I know there is no solid information to confirm this idea.  I do know that the honeybee has a great olfactory sense and the worker bee is quite capable of determining the smell of their queen from the one next door < if you make up nucs in great quantity (at that time some with queens and some without) and then randomly stack them in the back of your truck and then again randomly unstack them at your house you may get a sense of this capacity fairly quickly.

as Randy Oliver seem to be preaching now day.... question everything you think you know. 

[LazyBkpr]

If I have to move any hives this spring I'll document it just for you Tech.   Pretty easy to prove this one to yourself. I was probably about 13 the first time I saw it done. It just didn't occur to me back then WHY... it was being done.
    The first year here there was a LOT of moving about. SO much so that I cut pieces of plywood to lean across the entrances.   I am talking about moves of...  ten feet, eight feet, fifteen feet etc..    slowly became more organized, and don't do all the moving anymore, but I do still get cut outs to do within a couple miles of my house.

[iddee]

Yep, if you don't use the branch method, it takes them 3 days to find their hive again. With the branch, it only takes 72 hours.   

[barry42001]

what's that minutes lol

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[Jen]

tec ""I am GUESSING that the entire grassy twiggy leafy thingee is largely an urban myth."" and  ""I do know that the honeybee has a great olfactory sense and the worker bee is quite capable of determining the smell of their queen from the one next door""

Okay! I'm going to do the grassy twiggy leafy thingee because I have to get my swarm hive out of the garage, and if nothing else... it can't 'hurt' the situation any. I don't have anywhere else to put it in my yard that is a better bee location than where the mother hive is. Decision made! Crossing fingers with the Bee Gods !! Here We Go! 

[LazyBkpr]

Umm.. using that method they never HAD to find their hive again because they already knew where it was.  Move them when they are all in, put my plywood block up.  Move them..   Never had bees buzzing around the old location or clustering where the hive used to be.
   The old fellow I used to help used whatever was handy. An empty hive box, an old comb, or a bucket sitting in front of the entrance. There will be orienting in front of that hive all morning.   Not sure why it wouldn't work for anyone else?