> > Question:  Will moving hives at this time be ok?  Will I damage the colony
> > by doing this?  I will be moving them approximately 8 miles.
 
It's around freezing today and we are out moving yards of bees around in
their yards and to other locations.  Since they are all wrapped up, it is
simple to pick up a four-pack and take it away with a forklift.  (No snow
here yet).
 
We don't worry much at temperatures around freezing, but are careful not to
bang the hives around much.  Normal forklift and truck motions are no
problem, but a sharp bang can break the cluster resulting in some loss of
bees (when they are knocked out of the cluster and some get chilled).  At
this time of year they are usually near the floorboard in a two storey
hive.
 
Occasionally, in the past, the odd hive has been known to get dropped in
the snow.  After being put back together as well as possible under the
circumstances such hives usually make it through the winter anyhow, so the
bees are pretty tough if they are strong and well provisioned.
 
We've moved bees at near zero Celcius temperatures -- and sometimes
colder  -- for years with no ill effects.
 
Allen
 
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