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moving

PostPosted:17 May 2019, 08:32
by Alfred
I suddenly haves lot of bees - more than I had anticipated.
I had set up three concrete based hive stations with eye bolts for strapping down(we have a small herd of clumsy fallow deer that pass through most mornings)
Swarm number four has no station and is in an emergency position and really should be moved for its own safety.
It was football sized ,came from 100 yards away two days ago and apart from a tennis ball clump of stragglers left there, it's clearing out old comb and there is some pollen been taken in.It has a frame feeder of syrup.
I need to move it 10 foot sideways once I've got the station prepared
Any advice?

Re: moving

PostPosted:17 May 2019, 09:17
by Jim Norfolk
The 3 feet or 3 miles rule for moving hives applies. You can move hives a short distance and the bees will follow and 3 feet per day is taken as the maximum. I once put a hive on a trolley and kept it moving a bit each day from one end of the garden to the other. No problem.

Re: moving

PostPosted:17 May 2019, 09:43
by Alfred
Thank you
Three ft at a time will put them very close proximity to a another very strong captured swarm colony for two or three days-is that ok?

If I put them into a different box,would that distract them enough to do it in one hit?
The problem is I can't get there every day and I'm leaving it to chance with the deer who are also swarming!!

Re: moving

PostPosted:17 May 2019, 11:36
by Patrick
Hi Alfred

Not sure changing the box will help much, it is their internal GPS which gets them to the right location and then I suspect the familiar box / scent / entrance at the last moment. Changing the box might instead confuse and cause more drifting. If you are moving a nuc next to a strong colony, make sure the entrance is kept really small so they can defend it against any chancers from the bigger colony. Supplied Over large hive or nuc entrances are a perpetual source of totally unnecessary and avoidable grief for bees and beekeepers, but are sadly still the norm rather than the exception.

Re: moving

PostPosted:17 May 2019, 13:26
by Alfred
Thanks Patrick
I'll just have to be patient in this case.