Rehoming a Honey Bee Hive

Hey everyone,

To cut to the chase, I’ve read that after rehoming a honey bees hive, they should be locked in for 24-72 hours until they adjust/acclimate themselves so as not to attempt to return or get lost. But then I’ve seen other replies on social media pages saying this angers the bees and is unnecessary. Wanted to come here to get the scoop from the Permies.

As always, I appreciate any advice. I got the lucky chance to take a colony of honey bees (Italian) plus accessories for too good a deal for me to resist. It’s always been an aspiration of mine to keep bees so I decided to take the opportunity. I understand this comes with a lot of responsibility that I don’t take lightly. Coming here to get some insight from the community.

I’ve done my basic internet research, I’ve got a yard full of a clover trio and in the process of getting a more robust pollinator garden of native (North East US) plants.

Anywho, thanks in advance!

I was taught to plug the entrance up with grass clippings so they have to work a bit to get out. If they're not out in 3 days remove the plug for them. Seems to work.

I have installed bees three times in TBH hives and never closed any entrances. They remained in the hives and started working right away

Iv never kept them in before when moving a established hive. We moved our hives 20 miles when we moved out of town and just moved them at night. We didn't have any issues with losing any as far as I could tell. They are smart little bugs and seemed to treat the relocation like a swarm. When Iv moved a hive across the property they will return to there old spot but they are not loaded down with pollen like they are trying to return. They are coming empty and ready to collect stuff. My theory is they are either using the old hive location as a land mark or looking to see if there's any honey left to raid from there old spot. If youv ever had a hive decide to leave a spot on there own, they will return to move all there honey and pollen to there new place if you don't interfere. At least these are my experiences.  Iv only had bees for 6 years now and your milage may vary.

I've heard one should move bees 'Two feet or two miles'; in other words less than two feet or more than two miles.

On the other hand I moved two hives this spring about 30 feet, then put grass or brush across their entrance for a few days, which worked well.

Also, I recommend https://www.beesource.com/ as a beekeeping forum.

Brian
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Congratulations! If you are moving less than a few miles, put some twigs and leaves in the entrance and  by the time they sort it out and reorient, they are usually fine. Or move on a rainy day, it amounts to the same. The other suggestions are not incorrect either, but it is unlikely they will, get 'pissed off'.

Take a look at aerial views when you are placing them. Chances are, there are plenty of resources for them. Trees and shrubs especially provide a lot per unit area. Plant clover only if you like clover honey or to build them up past honey harvest. I do not like clover honey personally.

If you have not kept bees before, or not for a number or years, find a mentor. Bee School is extremely helpful as well.

Finally, there are at least n + 1 ways of beekeeping, where n is the number of beekeepers.

Bees are a blessing, congratulations!
What I've learned is that when moving a colony of bees ...
...close the entrance and move in the evening/morning/next day
...move the hive AT LEAST 2kilometers or they'll fly back to their old home location and try to start a colony there
...AND put a branch in front of the hive before you open the entrance again, so that they have to make some effort in exiting/entering the hive. This helps them to learn where their home is, apparently.

It's hot and dry weather where I live at the moment, and I'm putting water in bird baths for the flying friends, big and small, to drink.

Good luck!

Hi,
The "move the bee hive 2 or more miles" prevents the bees from flying back to the old location and finding themselves homeless.
Closing the hive up in the evening to move it them then or as early in the morning as feasible is less stress on the bees and the beekeeper. There's nothing quite as exciting as driving a car full of upset bees flying around.
I've never seen or read in studies of a need to keep bees locked up after having moved them. They will make orientation flights and get themselves bringing in nectar and pollen as soon as possible. The only issue would be if they are closer than a couple of miles to their original location. In that case, the workers will go "home".
I hope that helps,
Robin

Jordan Holmes wrote:Hey everyone,

To cut to the chase, I’ve read that after rehoming a honey bees hive, they should be locked in for 24-72 hours until they adjust/acclimate themselves so as not to attempt to return or get lost. But then I’ve seen other replies on social media pages saying this angers the bees and is unnecessary. Wanted to come here to get the scoop from the Permies.

As always, I appreciate any advice. I got the lucky chance to take a colony of honey bees (Italian) plus accessories for too good a deal for me to resist. It’s always been an aspiration of mine to keep bees so I decided to take the opportunity. I understand this comes with a lot of responsibility that I don’t take lightly. Coming here to get some insight from the community.

I’ve done my basic internet research, I’ve got a yard full of a clover trio and in the process of getting a more robust pollinator garden of native (North East US) plants.

Anywho, thanks in advance!

If by "rehoming" a beehive you mean taking a fully functional hive (supers, boxes and frames) from one location to another, you should not have any difficulty.
In a full hive, you have a queen and her workers, frames with some honey and a couple of frames with packed pollen. That makes it unlikely that they will take off: They will protect their queen and will settle down in a few hours. If you are worried, move the hive in the evening, which is a better way to do it anyway. After they have gone back to the hive, they will stay put.
Your queen, once she is fertilized and starts laying will stay put, and the workers will congregate around her. If you get the queen in a queen box, you need to make sure that she can get out. Usually, the workers will spring her, but sometimes, you need to give them a hand. I had several where the queen box wasn't really closed and the queen got out in 2-3 minutes. It didn't make any difference: they put a group of bees with the queen to take care of her, and in the couple of days that they travel to your place, they get acquainted and won't leave her.
Where folks get into difficulty is when they attempt to move a hive a short distance and leave a number of workers in the field. Those poor workers look for their hive, and the ones that were in the hive will go out, looking around but it does take a couple of days before their location system is final.
Leaving workers in the field can cause the hive to fail because they will die looking for the hive, and your queen may not be able to replace these missing workers fast enough.
Sometimes, I've had to move a hive like 20 ft, to a sheltered area. That's more confusing to them than moving them several miles, because in a short move, they will recognize that they are 'near', but they do not see their hive.
I only installed my hives in the evening. Also, I placed a panel, or some obstruction in front of the hive: When they leave in the morning, the panel tells them that there is a major change, and they will take a couple of tentative flights and come back until they have the area figured out. I've had good success with a panel loose in front of the entrance.
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I always heard that as long as you identify the queen, and queen in waiting, they will stick around as they have 'imprinted' on her.

I once moved a hive about 20 feet during the daytime. It was in an open & mowed field with no obstructions to visibility. I needed to move it away from a creek that was flood prone. As the foragers returned they circled around the old location. Eventually there was large cloud of bees circling that spot. I expected some confusion but not to that extent. That hive was in the remote mountains & a couple hours from home so it was inconvenient to move it at dawn or dusk. In retrospect I should have camped there to move it at the proper time. They must have figured it out though because the colony survived there for several more years. The ones 1/4 mile away in that same field did ok too .... until a bear destroyed all of them.