Moving backyard hive

This might be a bit late since I already moved the hive but...

So when I initially got my hive last year I placed it in a nice clear, north facing position where it gets good sun for most of the day except late afternoon. Perfect spot I thought.

Then the kids got a trampoline and the best spot for that was where the hive was. So last night I moved the hive about 5m away, with the entrance facing north east and onto a fence so they have to fly up and over the neighbouring yards. Another perfect spot I thought given the space available.

This morning I went out to check on the bees and they seemed to be a bit upset. Outside the hive they're swarming a bit and back at the old location to the hive there are quite a few bees. Did I do something wrong? Should I have moved it further away?

12 comments · 81% upvoted · other discussions

comments

[deleted]

Yes I agree with Ciene that is what we do, add a branch to front of the hive. We talk about that in this blog post:- http://kiwimana.co.nz/moving-beehives-a-short-distance/

lambda_foo [OP]

Thanks for the link. I've added your blog to my feeds, it's hard to find good information for our corner of the globe (I'm in Sydney).

[deleted]

No worries, yes thanks for following. We also have a Beekeeping podcast if you listen to them...Gary