If you are a beekeeper, you may need to transfer your bees from an old hive to a new one for various reasons. However, this is not a simple task and it requires careful planning and execution. Here are some professional and reliable tips from an experienced beekeeper on how to do it successfully:
1.Increase the bees’ acceptance of the new hive. There are many factors that can make the bees reject the new hive, such as their strong nest recognition ability, the environmental conditions of the new hive, and so on. To increase the bees’ acceptance of the new hive, you should do the following:
- Make sure the new hive is made of qualified materials, clean, odorless, pest-free, well-ventilated, and not too hot or humid.
- If you are transferring the bees from an old frame hive to a new frame hive, you should move the old combs to the new hive and restore the original living environment of the bees as much as possible. If you are transferring the bees from an old earth hive to a new frame hive, you should tie the old combs to the frames and put them in the new hive, restoring the initial living environment of the bees as much as possible.
- After transferring the bees, you should check the acceptance of the combs, make sure there are more bees than combs, check the food supply, the condition of the brood combs, the queen bee, and so on.
2.Avoid bee return and excessive chaos. The most common problem when transferring bees is bee return, especially when transferring the eastern honey bee. If you do not take preventive measures, bee return can cause serious bee loss and hive disorder. To avoid bee return and excessive chaos, you should do the following:
- Keep the old hive in the same position and change the hive on the spot. The entrance of the new hive should match the entrance of the old hive as much as possible. The old hive should be moved to a very hidden place where the bees cannot find it.
- Use a long-distance method to transfer the hive and avoid bee return. Generally speaking, the eastern honey bee should be moved to a place more than three kilometers away to change the hive. After changing the hive, the old hive can be put back to the original place or discarded.
3.Avoid robbing. When there are many hives in the apiary, if you change the hive when there is a severe lack of honey, it can easily cause robbing. To avoid this, you should do the following:
- Change the hive in the morning, evening, or night.
- Change the hive quickly and avoid opening the hive for too long.
- Protect the honey combs when changing the hive and make sure there is no honey residue around the hive.
- Make sure there are no other bees involved when changing the hive and deal with them immediately if you encounter them.
By following these three tips, you can change the hive smoothly. The methods of changing the hive are also very simple. You only need to lift the combs or shake the bees to change them. There is no need for too much technical skills. If you have more suggestions, please leave a comment and share.