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  • From: Meredith Friedrick <friema16 AT gmail.com>
  • To: Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com>
  • Cc: Phil DeGuzman <phil.deguzman AT gmail.com>, April Rhodes <rhodap1974 AT gmail.com>, "ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org" <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Hive move
  • Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2015 11:55:38 -0400

I appreciate this conversation because due to logging on our property that most assuredly will still be going on when I get my rescheduled package from Bailey's in Raleigh in April, I will need to put the hive in a less desirable location at first and move it later.  Since I'm a Newbee, I plan to go with the information presented here and avoid watching any of the youtube videos about moving hives.  Thanks for an interesting and informative conversation!

Meredith Friedrick

On Fri, Mar 27, 2015 at 9:54 AM, Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com> wrote:
Sincere apologies if you thought I was trying to shut you down -- instead I was trying to stop the propagation of this unnecessary and dangerous practice, which was popular among the less experienced OCBA crowd a year or two ago.

Michael Bush is a guy just like you and me who happens to have a popular website. He practices lots of suspect/non-mainline practices that may make him happy but aren't good for our area and/or aren't recommended by people who know better. I would recommend Randy Oliver's site (www.scientificbeekeeping.com) if you want to learn from a methodical experimenter who is well respected in both the scientific and popular beekeeper community.

I've moved a lot of bees over the years and while we can do lots of extra stuff that seems important, the simple approach works fine for me. There's no need to get complicated, even if doing something complicated doesn't kill the bees.

Randall


On 3/26/2015 9:21 PM, Phil DeGuzman wrote:
Hmmm- I was not trying to stir up debate or tell anyone how they should do anything beekeeping related. Just sharing my experience- I wish more beekeepers would take this approach to sharing insights.

By the way, the method I used was well documented on Michael Bush's website. I've never heard of him being a youtube myth-monger, in fact I think he is held in pretty high regard nationally. But then again I've only been keeping bees for four years, so maybe I don't know enough to consider him as spreading youtube myths... I learn something new every week.


On Thu, Mar 26, 2015 at 6:56 PM, Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com> wrote:
There's no reason to close up the entrance for any longer than it takes to move the hives. Bees don't forget where they live just because they are in the hive. That is a you-tube myth. If the hive is strong, closing the entrance can cause the bees inside to overheat & die.

Yes, moving them at night is a good idea.

Randall


On 3/26/2015 5:27 PM, Phil DeGuzman wrote:
My experience with a "local" hive moved was a nightime operation...me thinking it best to move them when foragers were home. They were none too pleased😄

After relocating I did provide a half gallon of light syrup, closed the entrance for one full day. I placed pine boughs at the entrance once I opened the entrance. Apparently this forces the bees to reorient to the new location. I did have about 200 bees per hive who went back to the original hive location. But the hives survived.

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 26, 2015, at 16:00, Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com> wrote:

Make sure you remove all evidence of the old site when you move them (particularly, remove the entire stand; it may serve as a landmark or have pheromones on it.) Ideally any wayward foragers will go into Search Mode when they return to the spot and nothing is there, then find the nearby hives.

As Walter indicates, don't agonize over it much. Just move them, with the caveat I mention above. At least that works for me. In my experience, losses on a move like you are talking about are more hypothetical or "potential" than actual. If some bees return to the old spot, scoop them up and dump them in the new home. No problem.

Folks who try to do elaborate measures they see on you-tube cause a whole lot more harm than what we are suggesting. I've seen entire hives killed from people doing some of that nonsense.

Randall

On 3/26/2015 2:42 PM, Starks, Walter wrote:
I moved all 3 of mine about 100 feet a few months ago. Did it just before full dark. Closed the entrances, wrapped a strap around each one and loaded them on a wagon one at a time. Some people say to block the entrances with leaves or pine straw when you re-open them. I tried that with mine. Perhaps it made some difference. Not really sure. The bees just pushed the pine straw out of the way and proceeded with business. I probably lost about 20 foragers from each hive. Not bad really. I'm sure you'll see at least a few that return to the old site.

______

Walter




Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 26, 2015, at 2:09 PM, April Rhodes <rhodap1974 AT gmail.com> wrote:

I need to move my hive about 50 feet to a more sunny area on my property.  From what I've researched, it looks like I should get out early in the morning before the bees start leaving the hive to forage (or at dusk when they've all returned), then close off the entrance, load the hive on a wagon (all boxes at one time if possible), and pull it over to the new location.  Is it as simple as that?  Or is there a better way to do this?  Thanks in advance!
-April
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