Drifting, Is This Bad?

[J.T Bees]

I am relocating my bee yard and I was wondering about how far to space my hives? I read that if they are too close to each other the bees will drift. Is drifting something to worry about? All my hives are white. I have them all in a row with the entrances all facing the same way. I have them on a terrace with limited space making it hard to have them in irregular groups. thanks,
Jantsen

[BjornBee]

Drifting (or close hives)effects the following on same degree or another...

Queen loss. Anytime a queen leaves to mate, the potential for her landing on the wrong entrance exists. In nature, colonies are separated by large distances. Yes, bees go back to the same spot after moving a hive a few feet, but this is seen with workers who may of made the pinpointed landing hundreds of times. A queen does not have that experience, and bees do get confused or make mistakes from time to time. A worker may get rejected at the wrong entrance. A queen gets killed. This of course matters more or less with your management and awareness of swarming, supersedure, etc.

More aggressive hives. By drifting, the guard bees are challenged on a higher level. Not all bees are loaded with pollen and nectar. Forage bees looking to unload may not display any characteristics that will key guard bees to notice them. They let them pass many times. But bees relieving themselves, bee taking orientation flights, bees cleaning out hive garbage, also leave the hive. Many times these bees are challenged as they drift and make wrong decisions. So the guard bees are acting at a higher level of awareness, and may be more easily triggered to fly up to the unsuspecting person nearby.

Make disks, or paint the hive entrances different colors. A brick in from of one, a plant next to another. Anything to allow the bees to use visual aids and points of reference will help.

[Michael Bush]

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmisc.htm#hivestand

[Hobie]

I've read that bees will be more likely to return "home" if the hives are not all identical. Different colors or patterns, or even a strategically placed potted plant, may help them identify their colony.

[golddust-twins]

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmisc.htm#hivestand

Michael are you saying the space between the hives really doesn't make a difference? I plan on putting is some more hives this spring and was clearing my land today trying to decide where to put the hives. It came to me I really didn't know how far apart they needed to be. Thanks this answered my burning question...:)

thanks,
Corinne

[odfrank]

I don't worry about spacing or drifting either.

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/odfrank/SanMateo2007002-1.jpg

[Michael Bush]

>Michael are you saying the space between the hives really doesn't make a difference?

Sure it makes a difference, but not enough that it matters to me. Mine are all touching.

[Brent Bean]

If you noticed MB’s picture the hives are various colors this will help the bees find the right hive. Turning them slightly different angles also helps. Unless you’re a full time beekeeper that needs to move many hives on pallets. You can prevent drifting from being a minor problem to no problem at all, by a few adjustments.