Hive Location

by Jeff
(Portland, Oregon)

In locating a new hive in my urban yard, I am having trouble with a location that satisfies shade in the summer, sun in the winter and east to south facing entrance. Can a hive be moved to take advantage of the seasonal conditions? Is there a radius from the original location within which the bees will not be disoriented? Is distance from an existing structure a consideration? Is maintaining the original cardinal orientation of the hive important if moved? Thanks, Jeff

Hi Jeff

When I started to keep bees in England I was told that hives should have sun in the morning to warm them up, shade in the middle of the day (to protect them from the hot British sun) and sun at the end of the day.

I've seen hives in many different locations and my opinion is that other considerations such as accessibility, visibility to neighbors and flight paths are more important.

Bees will adjust the temperature of their hive quite successfully by buzzing to warm it up and evaporating water droplets to cool it down.

If you want to move a hive the traditional 'less than three feet or more than three miles' applies unless you want to do something different. Move them a few feet every few days until they're where you want them.

If you move them more than a few feet, do it in the evening and place some branches across the entrance, the bees will quickly orient themselves to the new location. It's sometimes helpful to leave an empty box at the old location to collect stragglers, then empty these in the front of the hive each evening until they get the message.

I don't think the cardinal orientation makes much difference. If you turn a hive round through 180° you'll find the returning foragers will find their way inside very quickly.

Bees are very flexible, I think they should be allowed to do their thing, provided it's convenient for the beekeeper. Don't be manipulated by your bees.

The Bee Guy]