Bees are best motivated to collect pollen when they have young, uncapped brood. Strong colonies with large populations and plenty of brood are superior pollinators, and the beekeeper should get a higher rental fee. Moving Hives Bee hives are almost always moved at night when bees are not flying and temperatures are cooler. Smaller beekeepers may screen hive entrances individually and manually load hives on and off a pickup truck. In either case, be prepared for nighttime arrival and arrange details in advance with the beekeeper about field access and hive placement.
Timing Move hives into the crop after some flowering has already begun.
If you move them in before the crop blooms, you give bees a chance to forage on another non-target plant such as Dutch clover. Once bees are trained to such competing flowers, they often ignore the crop when it blooms. Eliminate competing weeds with herbicides or mowing. The number of recommended hives per acre depends on the attractiveness of the crop to bees, number of wild bees, number of competing weeds, strength and location of bee hives, weather, and the grower's experience. As a starting point, consider one hive per acre, and move up or down according to the advice of experienced growers, beekeepers, or your county Extension agent.