There are just about as many ways to move bees around as there are beekeepers. The following pages are about how I do it. You are free to do to suit yourself.
This is a photograph of a yard where I over wintered eight colonies for several years. Each year these colonies were moved about twenty miles for contract pollination of strawberries. I'd rather not go into the benefits or lack thereof concerning bee pollination of strawberries. Let's just say "the customer's always right", he perceived a value added and was willing to pay for the service.
The photos in the article were taken in the spring of 1998, I try not to do this as much anymore.
This is how they were wintered. Single stories in a somewhat unprotected area and they came through OK. You might notice a couple of things from this shot. The lifting cleats which are just 1 by 2's I still use to this day. It makes lifting much easier, especially if the colony is taller. A situation I try to avoid if they are to be moved around.
I gave up the number plates you see on the front which are brass valve tags, and don't use bottom boards like these anymore. They're too heavy.
This was the average strength of the overwintered colonies. This was taken March 1st and the outdoor temperature was 37 degrees! The patties are plain Crisco patties which were applied in late winter for tracheal mites.
Loading is done via the "Armstrong" method. This box doesn't have the cleats I try to put on all the boxes and the finger strain can be extreme at times.
You probably didn't notice, but I said nothing about fastening the bees in by way of screens or anything else. When I attended the Eastern Apicultural Society conference in 1996 one of the state bee inspectors was moving hives to the show for demonstration. I noticed he had not secured the bees and when I asked him about it he replied I just put 'em in the truck and haul ass. I have adopted his method and use it to this day.
Since moving and all, some of the bees will invariably get to flying about. Here you see what I try to always do and that is leave one box behind to pick up the stragglers. I choose the smallest colony for this job.
Twenty or so miles down the road and its time to unload. The bees go on pallets the farmer left for the purpose. I usually asked them to put the pallets where they wanted the bees.
Here's a shot of four at the back of another field. Notice the sweatshirt? Like I said it was in the thirties.
On go the queen excluders and a single super each. I won't be back to pick the bees up for 8 to 10 weeks and they'll need more room by that time.
This is one reason I don't like to move bees in the spring for pollination. These bees are at Henley's farm later the same day. It's quite cool but by mid afternoon in the sun the bees are working and building up for the main nectar flow we have around here the first two weeks of April. I'm not so sure about the economics of pollination versus honey production but I know leaving them in place is easier on the back and they make more honey.
Here's what the bees at Henley's were working on. A field full of broccoli from the previous fall which has gone to flower. I was full of bees that afternoon.