> It appears that you are begging the question, Pete, by basing your argument on an assumption, rather than evidence. Do you have any experimental evidence to support your assumption that the drift was due to location rather than colony scent.

Hmm. The first time I installed packages was back in 1975, many hundreds of them. The boss told me we should do it at night, to prevent drifting but he couldn't be bothered so we installed them in broad daylight. The bees drifted to the corners of the yards, so badly that some hives had nought but a queen and a handful of bees. Oh well, not my money. 

As the years went on, other people told me the same thing. The bees fly out, don't mark their locations, and wind up in a few hives at the edges of the bee yard. By the way, this is a strong argument for not using bee yards where there are a hundred hives all in rows, all the same color, etc. Better to scatter them about, pointing different ways.

When I worked in the queen industry in No. Calif we set the nucs out along forest roads, turning them different directions, placing them near landmarks like boulders, shrubs or trees. So my practices are not based on personal assumptions but the hard won experience of many men, years and lost dollars. 

Again, I agreed with you that if there are hives with queens and hives without, the bees drift to the queenright units. And, if package bees were installed during inclement weather there was no noticeable drift, which supports my contention that the bees fail to orient properly if they fly out immediately. 

PLB

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