> Conventional wisdom says the hives should be moved either a few inches or a
> mile or more at a time...

Your questions are good ones, but very much doubt that there are any clear-cut
answers for them.  So much depends on the circumstances, the weather, the strain
of bee, the time of year, etc.

I personally have moved bees across the country, around the province, around the
neighbourhood, and around the beeyards without a great amount of thought.  It is
pretty clear what is happening when you try a move -- if you are observant --
and you can decide if the effects you observe are desirable or not.  For
example, I do like to lose flying bees from splits I am going to be giving a new
queen, so I generally move them in the yard before doing so.  I don't want to
lose flying bees from a pollinating or honey producing colony, so I am careful
how I move them in a yard and how I change the appearance of their surroundings.

Your last question is really interesting, since most of us who move bees
regularly assume that virtually all the bees adapt to each new location.  There
are good reasons to assume this, such as reports of tests where at least some
lost from trucks find any hives near where they are abandoned and move in.
Other indications are the clusters of bees that form on gas pumps or posts where
trucks that are not adequately netted may have stopped briefly during daytime.

Nonetheless, when moving bees with a net, I have noticed that a fair number of
the bees that come out of the hive and which are restrained by the net die for
no apparent reason, even in ideal weather.  Do some of the bees experience shock
or fatal stress due to the upset of moving?  Would they die even if they not
restrained and made it to the new location?

I suppose your last question could be answered by taking a sensitive scale,
weighing several hives in different conditions, then moving them and weighing
again.

allen
--
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