It is possible to move bees successfully less than 3 miles from their original location. I have just done it, following advice found on the Internet. My hive does not have a mesh floor yet and I blocked the entrance with the insect screen of a ventilator to ensure that they would not escape and still be able to breathe. There was honey still in the stores but I gave fondant with pollen to the bees before moving them. I placed the fondant on the hole of the crown board. I strapped the boxes of the hive together and moved the hive with a friend to its new location. The boxes were "glued" together with propolis and did not move. Once in its new location, I kept the bees confined for 82 hours. On the morning of their release, I took the insect screen off the entrance. To make extra sure they would reoriente, I placed a thick bush in a pot in front of the hive and branches with leaves on the landing board, right by the entrance to make sure that the bees would notice, stop and think. Half an hour after I had removed the insect screen, there were scores of bees outside the hive, beautifully reorienting. Within an hour, many of them were bringing orange and yellow pollen. No bees went back to their original location. Complete success.
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Chantal, 5 March 2014
It is possible to move bees successfully less than 3 miles from their original location. I have just done it, following advice found on the Internet. My hive does not have a mesh floor yet and I blocked the entrance with the insect screen of a ventilator to ensure that they would not escape and still be able to breathe. There was honey still in the stores but I gave fondant with pollen to the bees before moving them. I placed the fondant on the hole of the crown board. I strapped the boxes of the hive together and moved the hive with a friend to its new location. The boxes were "glued" together with propolis and did not move. Once in its new location, I kept the bees confined for 82 hours. On the morning of their release, I took the insect screen off the entrance. To make extra sure they would reoriente, I placed a thick bush in a pot in front of the hive and branches with leaves on the landing board, right by the entrance to make sure that the bees would notice, stop and think. Half an hour after I had removed the insect screen, there were scores of bees outside the hive, beautifully reorienting. Within an hour, many of them were bringing orange and yellow pollen. No bees went back to their original location. Complete success.