> This method was told to me by a beekeeper with many years of
> experience:
>
> If you are moving hives short distances it helps to place a piece of
> wood on the ground in front of the hive.
 
<snip>
 
> Any Comments ???
 
True, anything _can_ help.
 
But what happens when you move a hive of bees depends on -- like
everything in beekeeping -- on many interrelated factors...
 
time of year
flow/no flow
weather (rain/sun)
daily flight levels
terrain
distance of foraging
climate
hive size
hive history
breed of bees
diseases/pests
number of nearby hives
and probably a lot more
 
Migratory beekeepers routinely load bees in the daytime -- due to
necessity, although it is preferred to do so when flight is nil.  Id
est: at night, early morning, in the rain, during winter, etc.
 
We routinely move hives 4 or five feet in a yard for tidying or when
reversing, without any measures at all.  It is pretty obvious if it
is causing much drifting or confusion, in which case we just undo the
action just taken.
 
If there is no significant flow, the bees are usually not overly
intent on coming and going and get back home okay.  The other hives
in the yard serve as markers like the wood you describe -- if we don't
disturb the pattern too much with our rearranging.
 
Sometimes we deliberately position a hive to gather extra bees, or
give some up.  Sometimes we'll lean a lid in front of a hive to
divert some of the bees.  An experienced beekeeper can tell the
effect of the positioning.  Most days all the bees will find some hive
and go in and be accepted with no problem.
 
David's method is pretty foolproof and removes the need for much
understanding of the bees, and is also to be recommended where a
person is not comfortable with experimenting.  It makes a good
general practice that won't ever go wrong.  The literature says that
it takes about three days for bees to lose their memory of 'home',
but in my experience a full day, and confinement and confusing the
entrance seldom, if ever, fails -- as he points out.
 
A big problem is that a new hand will see an experienced beekeeper go
around a yard doing things and assume they can be done that way all
the time -- without realising that the beekeeper is looking all the time
to see what the bees are doing as a result of his actions, and
adjusting his activities to get desired results or avoid problems.
 
The experienced hand probably knew what to expect before he drove
into the yard, and definitely knew as soon as he glanced -- probably
unconsciously at and entrance or two, or automatically lifted a lid
or two.  He likely had a pretty good idea as soon as he walked out
the door at home how the bees would react to his activities.
 
The next day, that same afternoon -- or minutes later due to weather
changes -- that same beekeeper may do things very differently --
causing some considerable consternation to the newbie.
 
Everyone gets fooled now and then, as we did in our package bee
fiasco described here earlier.  Sometimes the bees just don't follow
the rules, and it is necessary to figure out how to recover from an
error.  Sometimes the weather hands you a big surprise.
 
If you have bees returning to a spot where hives were located, be it
5 feet or 1 mile, they can be picked up by placing a super on the
spot, preferably with a comb or two, and reunited with the parent or
some other colony after being confined for a day or so, or used for
other purposes.
 
When a whole yard has to be moved out during the day when there is
much flight, the bees are smoked constantly while loading and a
'catch hive' is left -- if practical in the centre of the yard to be
picked up later.  It may or may not have a queen or brood, or even
combs.  Usually virtually all returning bees will find it and move
in.
 
----------------------------------------------------
 
Footnote:
 
Interesting enough, we have discussed this topic along with others
that re-emerge from time to time quite exhaustively in previous
discussions some year(s) ago.
 
It's a shame to have all that work going to waste.
 
I've recently been wondering if anyone has the endurance to go
through the logs to make up a FAQ.  I don't, although I'd love to and
think we could use one.
 
Maybe a team effort is called for.
 
I realise we do have a FAQ of sorts, but it was put together some
long time ago and doesn't include the many discussions that have been
covered on the list or the many new resources that have sprung up
recently.
 
Comments?
 
Volunteers??
 
Regards
 
Allen
 
W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper                                         VE6CFK
RR#1, Swalwell, Alberta  Canada T0M 1Y0
Internet:[log in to unmask] & [log in to unmask]
Honey. Bees, & Art <http://www.internode.net/~allend/>