Ian Watson wrote:
>
> My brother and I retrieved a swarm the other day.  I remember one
> of the members of our local club saying that it is possible to move
> a swarm farther than 3 feet, but less that 3 miles without having to
> worry about losing bees, but he never said how long this effect lasted.
> Has anyone heard of this?  If so, how long after you hive the swarm
> can they be moved?





You seem to have your 'greater than' and 'less than' reversed. It is
written - dunno where, lots of places I think - that you can move the
hive less than 3' or more than 3 miles without losing bees. From my
limited experience, I'd have to say that rule of thumb is pretty
reliable.

Remember to move the hive when *all* of the bees are inside otherwise
you'll find field bees returning to the original site. If you are trying
to move the hive a short distance, say from one corner of your property
to the other, you might try nightly moves of < 3'. If you are trying to
move them down the road a bit, you may need to move the hive several
miles (>3mi) away first, then bring them back to the desired location
after a couple of weeks.


AL