Hi Kyle & all

> some beekeepers mark their hives with a bold geometric
> pattern, to keep bees oriented to their own hive,
> to cut down on drifting.

I have not done this with honey production hives, but I have used geometric
patterns on mating hives... I have many mating nucs with roofs that are
hinged to the boxes. Each roof is hand made to a different overall shape and
has wooden blocks screwed to it to form a unique pattern. The pattern blocks
are painted black and the body of the roof is painted white, this give a 3
dimensional component to the pattern and so as an orienting bee or queen is
spiralling around they see a different view of the pattern according to the
direction they are.

I do this because I mount the nucs on the vertical posts about 2 metres
apart in a three rail fence which is otherwise a completely regular pattern
that could easily confuse returning queens.

> Here's an idea.  Mark the hives in this situation with an odor.

This looks a good idea, but I would think the odour would drift about on the
wind in a variable fashion and so the smell at a distance may actually
mislead them.

I reckon the bees eyesight would be important at long distances with a smell
marker coming into play at very short distances.

Like so many things in beekeeping, that we take for granted, it needs
testing.


Best Regards & 73s... Dave Cushman, G8MZY
Beekeeping & Bee Breeding Website...
http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman