When a beehive is relocated, the colony—including the queen, nurse bees, and brood—is transported to a new site while safely enclosed in the box. The central question is the fate of the worker bees who are away during the move. These stragglers return to the original, now-empty location, relying on a sophisticated internal navigation system that makes them highly susceptible to being orphaned by the sudden change.
Which Bees Are Left Behind
The bees left behind are almost exclusively the “field bees” or foragers, representing the oldest members of the worker population. These bees are dedicated to collecting nectar, pollen, and water. A healthy colony can have tens of thousands of these individuals flying outside at any given time. Their navigation is based on highly precise measurements, including the angle of the sun, polarized light patterns, and a detailed map of landmarks surrounding the hive entrance.
The Forager’s Immediate Reaction
Upon returning to the coordinates of their former home, the forager’s response is immediate confusion. They arrive with a full load of resources, such as nectar or pollen, expecting to find the familiar scent and entrance of their colony. Instead, they encounter only air where their home once stood, which triggers a frustrated searching behavior. The bees begin flying in tight circles around the original location, attempting to locate the entrance. This searching behavior can continue for hours as the bees attempt to reconcile their internal navigation with the reality of an absent hive.
Survival and Mortality of Stragglers
The long-term fate of the left-behind bees is grim because they are incapable of independent survival. A forager is a specialized member of a superorganism, relying on the colony for food processing, warmth, and defense. Without access to the hive’s stored honey and the collective heat of the cluster, a solitary worker bee cannot sustain itself for long. Mortality for these stragglers is primarily due to starvation, exposure, and exhaustion, meaning they will likely perish within a few days. In rare cases, a forager carrying a load of nectar or pollen may be accepted into a nearby, established hive, but most foreign bees are aggressively rejected or killed by the resident guards.
Beekeeping Techniques to Minimize Loss
Beekeepers employ specific techniques to minimize the loss of foragers, understanding that a sudden move can be detrimental to the worker population. The most common rule relates to distance: hives should be moved either less than three feet or more than three miles away from the original location. Moving the hive a short distance allows returning bees to easily spot the box, while moving it more than three miles forces them to perform a complete reorientation flight. To ensure the maximum number of bees are inside, the move is almost always performed late at night or very early in the morning when all foragers have returned. Additionally, placing an obstruction, like a small branch, in front of the hive’s new entrance forces the bees to pause and re-register their surroundings before flying out to forage.