Hello Tom,
> I made up a small nuc in my home apiary for experimentation purposes, and I
> moved it to an out apiary - a distance of 15km (9 miles) - to prevent bees
> returning to their old hive.
>
> How soon could I move it back to my home apiary without losing bees?.
This depends on time of the year you do this operation. Normally you should
wait until the foraging elder bees get lost, in summer after about 4 weeks.
In this time of the year I would take them back when there's no flight anymore
(because of low temperatures in winter).
Sincerely
Reimund
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Beekeeper in Germany (Bavaria)
Queen Rearing of Cariolans
Insemination Station
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