Hello,
When my husband transports his bees to Florida each fall, he does not close
the hive entrances. They are loaded either after dark, or when temperatures
are below normal for flight, or when it is raining. The hives are on
pallets, 4 to a pallet, and moved with a loader. Once on the truck they are
netted ( tarped with nets) and strapped down. The truck needs to be kept
moving during daylight hours, otherwise numerous bees would still escape.
 
When we had only a few hives, and he was moving them by hand, he would wait
till dark when they were all in the hive and plug the entrance with a strip
of widow screen, pushed in far enough to lodge with a hive tool. He would
also duck-tape the flight holes. They would be moved that night or early
the next morning, and then released.
 
Becky Jennings
Land of Milk & honey
PA