Hive Relocation Initiative

When we first started bee keeping we positioned our single hive off to the side of our backyard where the best tree cover was available as a wind barrier.  This worked well to the keep the hive protected from the elements and it was a helpful bonus that the hive was not too far from the house for regular hive maintenance.
  

This all changed; however, when we upgraded from one hive to four.  Our four fold increase in hives also equated to a four fold increase in bees.  Or, to think of it another way, from between 60,000 to 80,000 bees during the summer months to between 240,000 to 320,000 bees.  That is a lot of bees to have flying around our backyard.  Last summer, I swear trying to hang Liam's diapers on the line became an extreme sport.  Both Ian and I sustained numerous bee inflicted injuries.

It is a bit ridiculous to have to wear a bee suit in order to hang clothes on the line so this summer, the bees are being re-homed to another part of the backyard that is much further from the house.  Speaking of extreme sports, try moving bee hives full of angry bees.  Ugh.

We wanted to move the hives as early in the spring as possible to cause the least confusion to the bees but we had to wait until enough snow had melted to allow us to set up the new hive platforms.  We also figured the hives would be at their lightest with the fewest bees and least honey stores in the early spring.  

The morning before the big move, we placed towers of different colours of Liam's dupplo blocks beside the entrances of each hive to give the bees a visual locator for their hive.  We read that bees sometimes have trouble finding their hive again after a move and that a bright visual cue can be used to help them adjust to a hive relocation.

We waited until night time when all the bees were at home before beginning the move.  First we very stealthily taped up the entrances to the hives and covered each hive with a sheet to catch any rogue bee escapees.  We then used the wheel barrow to transport each hive very, very carefully to the fenced off area at the back of the yard behind the chicken run.

After removing the tape from the entrances we placed some hay in front of the main door of each hive.  This is supposed to disorient the bees a bit when they exit the hive causing them to look back at the hive and make a conscious note of their new location.  Hopefully they look back and see their coloured blocks so they can easily find their way back to their new home.

It is now about a week later and the bee relocation initiative seems to have been a success.  There are still bees in all of the hives at the new location and there are no mountains of lost, dead bees at the old hive location - so I think we are in the clear.

Here's to a buzzy new home far away from the clothes line!