Bee Hives

Moving Bees in the DFW Area

You can only move a beehive “3 feet or 3 miles”

At some point, every beekeeper is going to need a hive moved, whether it’s to a neighboring plot of land, or across the country. There is a popular saying that you can only move a beehive “3 feet or 3 miles”. Before you can understand this saying, it’s important to understand how bees orientate themselves. Bees will forage within a radius of 5 miles from their hive to gather pollen, nectar, and water. When they leave the hive, bees orientate themselves by turning around to look back at the hive entrance. They will then fly figure eights in front of and around the hive to gather information about geographical landmarks and the sun’s position. Once the bees have gathered all the information they need, they fly off to begin foraging. Once all this information is set in their memory, they won’t need to reorientate themselves again. When it’s time to return home, they use the information they previously gathered to navigate landmarks to return to the exact spot the hive is located at. If a hive is moved a few feet, the forager bees will be able to find it, as it’s close to the hive’s original position. If a hive is improperly moved too far, the forager bees will be unable to find their hive.

When moving a hive 3 feet, stack the hives on a board, then restack them on the new location. You can use a variety of materials to place your hives on: cinderblock, brick pavers, plastic sheeting and gravel; as long as the surface is vegetation free, leveled, and able to support the weight of the hive. It’s also important to place navigate-able objects (such as sticks, beading, a leafy branch, rags strips on a string) directly in front of the hive entrance. Make sure to place it close enough so that the bees are forced to navigate the object to leave the hive. This will force the bees to reorientate themselves to the hives new location.

Moving Bees

Moving a hive 3 miles or more is significantly more complicated. The night before the move (or very early morning for you morning folks) is a great time to prepare the hive for moving, as forager bees don’t leave the hive at night. If done during the day, forager bees will be left behind, which can be devastating to the colony. Close up the entrance to the hive with a screened mesh and ensure that other potential entrance such as gaps between boxes are covered too. Good ventilation is essential. Entire colonies have died due to overheating during transport. During summer months, regularly spray the entrance with water and blast the AC (or roll down the windows) to help prevent overheating. To keep the hive boxes from jostling around, use ratchet straps to keep the hive together and pad the truck or trailer in the area the hive will be. If you’re moving multiple hives, then pack the hives closely together to minimize shifting. Once you’ve arrived at your destination, keep the bees sequestered for 72 hours. When the sequestration is over, place an object such as a leafy branch in front of the hive. Doing so will forced the bees to reorient themselves so they don’t get lost on their return.

Bees are often transported cross-country to states such as California to pollinate the almond trees and fruit bearing plants, and South Dakota for their high-quality honey. In Texas, the chief apiary inspector is in charge of regulating and enforcing the laws pertaining to apiary sale in chapter 131 of the agriculture code. Section 131.023. states that:

• “A person may not sell or offer for sale a queen bee and attendant bees, package bees, nuclei, or queen cells in this state unless the bees are accompanied by:
• (1) a copy of a certificate from the chief apiary inspector certifying that the apiary from which the queen bee was shipped has been inspected not more than 12 months before the date of shipment and found apparently free from disease; or
• (2) a copy of an affidavit made by the beekeeper stating that:
• (A) to his knowledge, the bees are not diseased; and
• (B) the honey used in making the candy contained in the queen cage has been diluted and boiled for at least 30 minutes in a closed vessel.”

Bees are often transported cross-country to states such as California to pollinate the almond trees and fruit bearing plants, and South Dakota for their high-quality honey. In Texas, the chief apiary inspector is in charge of regulating and enforcing the laws pertaining to apiary sale in chapter 131 of the agriculture code. Section 131.023. states that:

In California, the Apiary Board, which consists of five members and a director who are prominent apiary keepers, govern and regulate the apiary industry in California. Division 13, Article 9. Importation states that legal importation of a queen and her attendants requires a certificate to be signed by “State Entomologist, State Apiary Inspector, or comparable officer in charge of apiary inspection for the state of origin,” and that said certificate shall certify to the following:

• “a) The name and address of the owner or shipper and the place of destination in this state. (7662)
• (b) The number or amount of queen bees, package bees, bee semen, hives, or nuclei which contain bees, the number of used hives either empty or containing comb, and a complete list of any other used beekeeping equipment in the shipment. (7663)
• (c) The county and state of origin. (7664)
• (d) The date on which inspection was last made of the apiary in which the bees, comb, used hives, and appliances originated. (7665)
• (e) That the apiary was found free of all pests denoted as pests by the State of California, using detection procedures and methods approved by the director. (7666)
• (f) If the pest is American foulbrood, the total number of colonies in the apiary at the time of inspection, and the number of colonies found infested. (7667)
• (g) That all American foulbrood colonies of bees found upon inspection were destroyed, removed to a quarantine apiary, or removed to wax salvage, prior to the issuance of the certificates.”

Written by: Shannon Sosebee

Works Cited

Sources