I decided to take advantage of the new Greensboro Ordinance today and move 2 of my hives 5 to 6 feet over on my driveway pad. This will move them out of total shade and they will get morning sun on the entrances and afternoon sun on the sides and back of the hives.
I stapled screen over the reduced entrances in case the bees got feisty during the move. They were not flying today so I plan to leave the screens on for 3 more days. I will also place evergreen branches in front of the entrances when I remove the screens. Hopefully the time lapse and branches will cause the bees to reorient and alert them to a change in location.
Marc came over with his hive strap to secure the hives and helped me carry them to their new location. All went smoothly.
(Yes Wally, I did read the postings on short distance moves on another forum board.)
I'll let you know how things turn out.
Moving Hives a Short Distance
I'm working on the assumption that my bees have as bad a sense of direction as I do and that even a simple change in the orientation of the hive will baffle them. The hives are no longer at right angles to my other hives, but are in line with the others. I figure that doing what I have done was simple and will do no harm. As I gain more experience I will cut out unnecessary steps that the bees don't need but make me feel like I have done something.
Just another reminder that our past posts contain lots of useful information. Last January presented a good opportunity for moving hives and it looks like our present cold snap is another good time. Very few bees will be flying for the next 5-7 days.
I did move the hives last January and placed my new hives from Spring of 2009 at right angles to the moved hives and facing south. A check on December 21st (solstice) confirmed that all hives are getting full sun for at least a portion of the day. As of this morning all hives are alive. Time will tell.
I did move the hives last January and placed my new hives from Spring of 2009 at right angles to the moved hives and facing south. A check on December 21st (solstice) confirmed that all hives are getting full sun for at least a portion of the day. As of this morning all hives are alive. Time will tell.
Thanks for the reminder.
I plan to move 2 nucs tomorrow morning,
giving them better wind protection and a little more daily sun.
All 12 hives are surviving as of today but, time will tell.
I did lose a hive during treatment this fall.
The 1st of many I'm sure.
I believe they absconded but, they did have a poor queen.
It's possible the treatment did her in.
Anyone else planning to relocate hives?
I plan to move 2 nucs tomorrow morning,
giving them better wind protection and a little more daily sun.
All 12 hives are surviving as of today but, time will tell.
I did lose a hive during treatment this fall.
The 1st of many I'm sure.
I believe they absconded but, they did have a poor queen.
It's possible the treatment did her in.
Anyone else planning to relocate hives?
Everyone has an opinion, this is mine.
Norma
Norma
Moving bees and bees on the move.
Yesterday, David Lancaster and I took advantage of this extended cold stretch to move 2 of his hives from a shaded area to a place where they will get full sun most of the day. We did not have to screen them in since they have been clustered for the last 4 or 5 days and were not flying when we moved them. After just 10 minutes in the new location we could feel a real difference in the temperature of the sides of the hives getting sunlight and the sides away from the sun. I think the bees will find this location more to their liking and hopefully will get to work earlier and work longer this Spring when the flow starts.
I was surprised to see a small but steady stream of bees from 3 of my hives going to an external feeder of 2:1 I keep outside. It was mid afternoon, sunny and 35 degrees. All of my hives had good stores going into Winter but I am tempted to give a quick look at upper mediums/food stores later this week if I can hit it on an afternoon that is mostly sunny and 50 degrees or above.
Yesterday, David Lancaster and I took advantage of this extended cold stretch to move 2 of his hives from a shaded area to a place where they will get full sun most of the day. We did not have to screen them in since they have been clustered for the last 4 or 5 days and were not flying when we moved them. After just 10 minutes in the new location we could feel a real difference in the temperature of the sides of the hives getting sunlight and the sides away from the sun. I think the bees will find this location more to their liking and hopefully will get to work earlier and work longer this Spring when the flow starts.
I was surprised to see a small but steady stream of bees from 3 of my hives going to an external feeder of 2:1 I keep outside. It was mid afternoon, sunny and 35 degrees. All of my hives had good stores going into Winter but I am tempted to give a quick look at upper mediums/food stores later this week if I can hit it on an afternoon that is mostly sunny and 50 degrees or above.