"Less than two feet or more than two miles" is a time honored formula for how
far to move your bees.
If you move a hive less than two feet, the field bees can still find it when
they return from foraging.
If you move it farther, they get confused and can't find it.
The reason for this is that when a young bee emerges from the hive,
she identifies landmarks to orient herself to the location of the hive.
If you move the hive 10 feet, she flies off and goes about her business.
But when she returns, the landmarks bring her back to the old location and
she finds it extremely difficult to find the hive.
If you move the hive a hundred feet away, she'll probably never find it.
Given optimal conditions, bees forage within a quarter mile of home,
but will go at least a mile if necessary to find food or water.
By moving your bees at least two miles, you take them out of the range of
most or all of their familiar landmarks.
When that happens, they set new landmarks and don't get lost.
