Is today a good day to move a swarm

**ramdino** · 03-02-2013, 09:53 AM

I have a colony that swarm into several stored supers last spring and have been there every since. The super had frames but no comb so the comb is probably all over the place. The are in the top 2 supers only and did not move down the stack of stored supers. I have already been there and placed a board underneath the twp supers to keep them from moving down. So I am ready to move them. Is today a good day to do that? It is about 39 F here now and the temp should not be any lower by 5 when I plan to move them. I have to move them about 5 miles in the back of a truck and place them on a bottom board with a hive body on top of the two suppers. That hive body will have frames with foundation. As the queen and brood move up I am going to put a queen excluder under the hive body when I can catch her up there so she cannot get back down. Then as the brood hatches and those frames lower become empty I will remove them them and cut out the comb and start over with those supers. So would the temps now be OK to move them?

**rkereid** · 03-02-2013, 10:44 AM

Shouldn't be too bad if the you don't bang them around, or drive on a pot holed road. You mainly don't want to break comb. You might want to let them settle down after final placement, before cracking the boxes apart. They could be a little upset.

**ramdino** · 03-02-2013, 10:50 AM

Originally Posted by rkereid

Shouldn't be too bad if the you don't bang them around, or drive on a pot holed road. You mainly don't want to break comb. You might want to let them settle down after final placement, before cracking the boxes apart. They could be a little upset.

How long do I need to wait to let them settle down?

**rkereid** · 03-02-2013, 11:13 AM

Originally Posted by ramdino

How long do I need to wait to let them settle down?

Depends, but they could calm down in cool weather in 15 to 30 minutes.

**ramdino** · 03-02-2013, 11:27 AM

Ok, so once I get to the new bee yard'Ill unkload them from the truck and give them 30 to calm down before I open it up.
Thanks

**JimK** · 03-02-2013, 12:08 PM

I would never open a hive at that temp. I would wait at least it is 50 degrees out to do it..
Why are you in such a hurry?

**ramdino** · 03-02-2013, 12:22 PM

Originally Posted by JimK

I would never open a hive at that temp. I would wait at least it is 50 degrees out to do it..
Why are you in such a hurry?

Ok if it is too cold how about just moving them in their present condition. Right now they are closed up. I can keep them closed up during the move, and then when I take them off the truck, put them on a bottom board with the entrance almost block and a feeder. Right now they are in two suppers on sitting on a piece of plywood. Their entrance is the gap between the two suppers. I want to go ahead and get them moved because I have to move them again soon. The place I am moving them today is within a mile of where my permanent bee yard will be. So this will be the first of two moves. I need to get them moved so I can have time for the second move before the season sets in.

**Ruthz** · 03-02-2013, 01:07 PM

Why not wait and just do one move? Less stress on the bees, and you not have to worry about them flying back to their intermediary spot.

**ramdino** · 03-02-2013, 01:37 PM

I was told if you don't move them more than 3 miles from their original spot they would just go back to their original location. Just checked the temps. It's 46 degrees outside now.

**bishopb71** · 03-02-2013, 03:08 PM

[QUOTE=rkereid;902728]Shouldn't be too bad if the you don't bang them around, or drive on a pot holed road. QUOTE]

where is there roads without pot holes these days? lol

**Rader Sidetrack** · 03-02-2013, 03:26 PM

> I was told if you don't move them more than 3 miles from their original spot they would just go back to their original location.

I recommend reading this page from Michael Bush:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmoving.htm

I would move them in the cold if you can do it without opening the hive. If they don't dly for a few days they will reorient anyway, once it is warm enough to fly. You can encourage them to reorient by partially obstructing the entrance.

**ramdino** · 03-02-2013, 04:00 PM

Thanks all for the replys ya'll I got them moved. Went smooth.Got a feeder on them. Temp was around 46 so I figure they will be fine. They were very active.