The hive that was hit worst by the vandalism was Martha. She stayed exposed to the elements on her side for several hours with her frames spilled out. I hope that the queen made it through the ordeal or else enough brood survived that the nurse bees can create a new queen.
I wanted to move Martha out of the danger as soon as possible.
The Martha hive was furthest from the house. I went out tonight just as it got dark and moved her to a location closer to the house. Now I can see all three hives, Ethel, Connie and Martha (named after my aunts and my mother), from my deck.
The move did not go well. Martha weighs about 80 pounds. The parts of hives just set on top of each other and are not structurally attached. I lifted the hive and carried it 100 feet. It started slipping apart as I carried it and the bees were very very mad. I got it setting in the right place and I put a sugar feeder in it to help them recover a little. The bees were swarming all over the hive.
I had just set the bee veil on and did not tie it down. There were even bees inside the veil, but I never got stung.
There were lots of bees still swarming around the old hive site and I feel bad that they will be separated from the hive, unless they get lucky and find their way back. It is raining now so I think that a few hundred bees will not make it to the new location. A bee colony, though is not made up of individuals. It’s like a human that has a wound; it can heal. The individual bees are merely cells of the main creature. The creature is the hive.
I know I did some damage by moving it, but it is better than leaving her where she was and letting stupid kids attack her with rocks and sticks until all of the insides are exposed to the weather.
