You can place a second beehive just a few feet away from the original one. While many assume a new colony must be moved a significant distance to prevent confusion, immediate proximity is perfectly functional due to the distinct roles bees play within the colony.
Core Insight: Successful hive placement relies on bee biology, not just distance. Foragers are loyal to a specific geographic location, while nurse bees are loyal to the brood. Understanding this distinction allows you to place hives side-by-side without chaos.
Understanding Bee Fidelity and Location
To understand why close placement works, you must distinguish between the two main types of bees involved in a colony split or expansion.
The Role of Foraging Bees
Field bees, or foragers, orient themselves based on the specific coordinates of the original hive. If you perform a hive split during the middle of the day, these bees are out collecting nectar and pollen. When they return, they will fly back to the original hive's location, regardless of where the actual box is.
The Role of Nurse Bees
Nurse bees are younger and typically have not yet left the hive to map their surroundings. Their primary instinct is to remain with the brood frames to feed the larvae. Because they have not established a flight path, nurse bees will stay in the new hive location, even if it is only a few feet away from the original stand.
Ensuring the New Hive Thrives
Placing the hive close by is safe, but it changes the resource dynamic of the new colony. You must account for the separation of the workforce.
Compensating for Lost Foragers
Because the new hive is placed nearby, it will essentially lose its foraging force to the old hive location. The new colony will rely entirely on the population inside the box at the time of the move. You must ensure the frames you move contain a sufficient number of nurse bees to maintain colony functions.
Critical Resource Allocation
Without an active foraging force, the new hive cannot immediately gather new supplies. It is essential to transfer ample food stores along with the bees. Additionally, verify that there is enough capped brood; these pupae will hatch soon, replenishing the population and eventually graduating into the new foraging force.
Understanding the Trade-offs
While placing hives a few feet apart is standard practice, there are specific variables you must monitor to prevent failure.
Population Lag
The new hive will experience a temporary "labor shortage" regarding food collection. Because the field bees returned to the old location, the new hive is strictly a nursery for the first few days. It is vulnerable to starvation if not heavily stocked with honey and pollen frames.
One-Way Traffic
The traffic flow is one-sided. Bees will drift from the new hive back to the old location (if they were older bees), but bees from the old location generally will not move to the new one. This can result in the original hive remaining very strong while the new hive struggles if not initially over-populated with nurses.
Making the Right Choice for Your Apiary
The distance between your hives should be determined by your management goals and the resources available in the split.
- If your primary focus is establishing a split: Place the new hive a few feet away during midday to naturally separate older foragers from younger nurse bees.
- If your primary focus is colony survival: Ensure the new hive is stocked with heavy frames of capped brood and food to compensate for the lack of returning foragers.
By leveraging the natural instincts of nurse bees, you can expand your apiary without needing a second location miles away.
Summary Table:
| Placement Aspect | Details for Second Hive |
|---|---|
| Recommended Distance | Just a few feet from the original hive |
| Key Bee Population | Focus on Nurse Bees (loyal to brood, not location) |
| Primary Challenge | Temporary foraging labor shortage in the new hive |
| Success Factor 1 | Transfer ample food stores (honey and pollen) |
| Success Factor 2 | Include plenty of capped brood for rapid population growth |
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