Moved hives now not laying

[Wraith]

We have just moved two hives to a new farm. Higher on altitude by 2-300 m, they ate both in same orientation, but now in a coppice with an open view to fields.
Both hives after their first week have no signs of eggs, larvae or fresh capped brood and only a few capped brood left.
Is this just the queens needed to settle in or is this a problem with the area they are now in? The other two hives that haven't moved are doing fine.

The new area is a little more exposed to winds?

[Rosie]

Bees usually move without a problem provided you provide sufficient ventilation during the move and don't shake them up unduly. However, queens often stop laying for no apparent reason. It could be that there is suddenly no income for some reason, perhaps the new nectar and, in particular, pollen sources are difficult to find, assuming of course that there are some in the new area.

I would sit tight for a while and give them time to sort themselves out.

What stage are you in with your varroa treatment and feeding?

Steve

[gavin]

That's a fair bit higher. If it is windier, colder, and with less forage the bees are probably just staying at home with no nectar or pollen to use. On the other hand, having little capped brood means the queens weren't laying three weeks ago so maybe your previous site didn't suit them either.

You have a problem. As both hives are doing this, it may be the conditions the bees are experiencing rather than something wrong with the queens. The bees which should be hatching out now are the bees to take the colony through the winter.

If there are pollen sources nearby you might try feeding 1:1 to get some more brood raised but I'm not sure that this would work and you may just end up with unripened stores causing dysentery later. Maybe just make sure that the colonies have enough winter stores and cross your fingers.

[gavin]

If they are in a heather area they might get a little more nectar, but the weather is turning so probably not. As I've said elsewhere the heather at my site was frosted and that brought the season to a halt. Himalayan balsam or ivy sounds unlikely unless there are low-lying areas nearby which the bees can reach.

For the last two summers I've had colonies that switched off brood raising in August but came back with a little feeding and better weather. They survived the winter fine. But these bees are more or less at sea level and collect ivy pollen and a little HB at this time of year.

[Adam]

From your post, are you saying that the queen stopped laying before they were moved?