More on moving bees without being fancy:
 
I awoke this morning to realise that I had a little more to add about
moving bees.
 
Commercial beekeepers often have to move bees during the day and
sometimes during a flow.  Nighttime is preferrable, of course - or early
morning bedore the bees are flying.  However moving can be accomplished
in broad daylight with little loss.  Here's how:
 
First smoke the entire yard lightly and repeatedly until almost all flight
stops.  Wait until the returning bees are pretty well all back - maybe
twenty minutes.  Keep smoking the entire yard and the load lightly at the
entrances while loading.  (lightly means just enough to keep them down -
not enough to make them run for their lives). If there is much flight and
you will be able to return for it, leave a 'catch' hive.  A light, weak
split is a good choice.  Even a single will do.  Place it in about the
centre of where the yard stood.  Drive away.
 
Of course keeping the bees down on the truck will be a problem if it is
hot.  Smoke, water and nets or a closed van (with ventillation) will help,
but good judgement is essential.  This is not recommended for
inexperienced beekeepers.  Responsibility while moving on the roads is
important!
 
I found this following experience interesting:
 
We produce a lot of comb honey which requires daily manipulations at the
end of the season.  Some of our yards are 50 miles away (we run a 100 mile
strip of highway).  So I decided to take the last remaining comb hives to
the home yard.  I'm getting a little old to work all night anymore, so I
move in the daytime.
 
In one yard there were 15 comb hives and about 10 extracted honey hives.
I wasn't worried about losing bees because, although it was a nice fall
afternoon - warm and sunny with a light flow - any lost bees would be
happy to move in with remaining neighbours and would be readily accepted.
So I followed the procedure above.
 
The interesting case was one hive - a swarm which had made good and which
was about twenty feet from the yard.  I wondered if I could get away with
smatching it away.  So I tried as soon as I started loading, intending to
replace it with some other less important hive if necessary.  Immediately
a few bees started to drift back to its former site from the truck where
the hive now was located.  I was there a half hour or more from that time
and looked in on the site regularly as I worked.  Bees circled but did not
light.  When I left, there were no bees on the ground, although there were
a few searching for the hive.  Out of curiosity, I returned the next day
and there was no sign of a clump of lost bees on the ground.  I surmise
that they had given up and moved in with hives across the yard.
 
For what it's worth. . .
 
W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper
Rural Route One, Swalwell,  Alberta  Canada T0M 1Y0
Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588      Email: [log in to unmask]
 
> On Mon, 26 Sep 1994, Jerry J Bromenshenk wrote:
>
> > As regards the comments that hives can be moved about a yard within 24
> > hours, not true.  A few years ago I had some observation hives that flew
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