Natural Beekeeping International Forum

[exmoorlover]

What is the minimum distance to put a bait hive from an existing colony? I presume that in nature it isn't in bees' best interest to move in close to exisiting bees, even though that is the way we often keep them.

[catchercradle]

I would suggest there isn't a minimum distance but Professor Seeley has probably got the optimum distance somewhere on his pages. I had some two weeks ago move into an empty hive in the apiary about ten foot from the nearest other hive.

The experience of many is that bait hives within an apiary often attract swarms from other locations so based on that, locating the bait hive away from the apiary by say 20 metres may improve it's effectiveness.

[trekmate]

Tom Seeley suggests a wild swarm moves between 100 yards and one mile from the parent colony. Less than 100 yards works if you're offering the best home in the area.

[exmoorlover]

Trek mate, I live in hope!

Thank you both very much.

[AugustC]

What they said

Prime swarms appear to like to go a little further and casts are more willing to take what they can get. In reality I place them in convenient places rather than specific measured distances. We are after all dealing with a balance many factors and we just have to have the bait hive (or at least one of them) considered by the colony to be their best option.