How Close? How Many?

[Dundrave]

I have 3 hives, but am planning on expanding next year. I was wondering how close together/far apart people put their hives. I am building a hive stand from a set of angle irons, and working on figuring the dimensions.

The other question I have is, how many hives (permanent) you can keep per acre or per site. How do you calculate the number of hives a location can handle?

[GRIMBEE]

I have 3 hives side by side. put them as close as you want that is comfortable for you. As for how many per acre, I think depends on forage available.
My 2 cents

[shughes]

the dreaded answer...it depends but i will share what i have experienced.

i like to keep my hives in groups of two to three spaced roughly 30 inches from each other. in close areas i also face them at different angles (east, southeast and south).

you can space them closer but i like to have some room to work between the hives plus it reduces drifting. as far as the number of hives I think most places can support 20 with no issues but that does not mean an area can't handle more. I have a few beek friends that have 100 per yard before they start seeing the effects of competition.

for residential areas i like to follow the 2 per 1/4 acre so around 8 for a acre lot.

[Dan Williamson]

There is no way to tell you how many hives per acre. Each location is very different from the next. I have one yard that has 17 hives at it. I'm beginning to think that 17hives is too many for that location. I had 25 there last year and reduced the amount to 17. It is still too many. The upside is that it is a perfect winter location.

My home yard on the other hand can have 30 or more.

You can put hives right next to each other if you want. I typically put them 6-8 inches apart. The farther apart you put them the less chances of drifting probably.

[Dundrave]

I have a great location I think, I am surrounded by acres of hay fields with maple forests, and a major orchard 1.5 miles away, and not a lot of people :)

[Hill's Hivery]

I have 8 at my home location. They are spaced about 4-5 inches apart. I too prefer to keep them about 30 inches apart though. I like having the extra room to put the top on the stands I use and stack up hive bodies on it. That way I don't have to bend down to pick-up stuff as much. Gotta save the back every chance I get! ;)

It also limits the amount of plumbers crack available to the girls for a strike when I don't have to bend over as far!:eek:

[shughes]

on the verge of TMI, but got a good laugh. :)


It also limits the amount of plumbers crack available to the girls for a strike when I don't have to bend over as far!:eek:

[Dr.Wax]

If you are concerned about drifting you can mark each hive with a distinguishing feature..painted numbers, stickers, use your imagination. Bees are excellant at pattern recognition and this should minimize drifting.

These marks can also help you keep track of the hives for record keeping.

[chief]

If I did the math right and you assume a 3 mile radius from the hives that means that the bees have 18,000 acres to cover. (2 mile radius equals 8000 acres) It takes quite a few bees to over graze that amout of area. I keep my hives 8-10 inches apart but if I could I would keep them at least 2 feet apart and pointed in different directions.