>So then I went to the "move the hive" strategy that others have suggested.
>I'd lean towards a catcher nuc for the field bees and then search through
>the depopulated hive to depose the queen.

Another problem with the 'move the hive' strategy is that no one suggesting
it ever seems to stipulate, "on a day when the bees are flying freely".

Anyone who moves a  hive on a day after a cool spell, a period with no flow,
or a rainy spell, hoping to lose a lot of the bees, will be surprised to see
that, oftentimes, many or most of the bees stay right with the hive.  Under
such conditions, any that come out due to the bumping will often follow the
hive as you move it!

If you want to lose a large number of bees, it is important to move the hive
late in a day when there is a good flow on and the bees are flying without
orienting as they leave.  Otherwise, only very mimited success will be
achieved.

It is also important to place a substitute hive that looks somewhat the same
right on the exact spot where the original sat, or those sneaky bees will
very often sniff out their old home -- assuming it is not too far away and
that there are not many other hives around to fool them -- and return home,
defeating the beekeeper once again.

allen

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