Practical Guide: 4.9.1. Migrating honey bee colonies
Migratory beekeeping allows colonies to benefit from different nectar flows throughout the year, but it requires thorough preparation and adherence to precise rules. Official Practical Guide 4.9.1 of the Swiss Bee Health Service describes the conditions, organisational requirements, and principles to be observed when moving colonies.
Official Practical Guid – Summary
Practical Guid: 4.9.1 Migrating bee colonies
- Principle: Migration consists of temporarily moving colonies to other locations in order to benefit from specific nectar flows.
- Objectives:
- Utilize complementary or late nectar flows.
- Optimize production and colony development.
- Prerequisites:
- Healthy and sufficiently strong colonies.
- Careful selection of the migration site.
- Compliance with legal requirements and notification obligations.
- Procedure:
- Securely close the hives before transport.
- Transport carefully, avoiding overheating.
- Reopen entrances promptly after installation.
- Important point:
- Poorly prepared migration can cause stress, losses, or health problems.
► Open the official factsheet PDF (FR)
► To the official factsheet page (abeilles.ch)
Note: Section Choice of location & migration → 4.9.1 “Migrating bee colonies”.
Summary established on the basis of factsheet 4.9.1. Last verification: 01/2026.
See also:
- Factsheet: 4.9 Choice of location
- Setting up an apiary
- Bee forage plants
- Factsheet: 3.2 Periods of food shortage