A beekeeper recently asked me about moving hives a short distance (possibly
10-50') in the wintertime.  Aside from the hazards of breaking the cluster
in subfreezing weather, the beekeeper wanted to know how long it would take
for worker bees to "forget" their orientation and thus need to reorient.  If
bees stay in a tight cluster for 3 weeks or longer, will they "remember"
their location or will they be required to do an orientation flight on the
next "warm" day before or as part of their cleansing flight?

I searched the BEE-L archives and could not find an answer to this moving
winter question.  Anyone have experience with this situation?

Jim Bobb
Worcester Honey Farms, Inc.
Lansdale, PA

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