Full sun or partial?

Hello everyone. Im a soon to be new beekeeper in Concord NC. Excited and nervous, at the same time. My biggest concern is hive placement. If i do majority sun, the hive will be in the middle of my yard. Which isnt that big of a deal, just have to work around it. Parcel sun, would put the hive along my fence line, on the side of my yard. Trees and forage, would be behind the hive for a wind break. That would be ideal for me but, would it be ideal for the bees?
Where ever I place them, I’m going to have to build a platform. The hive will be placed, in somewhat of a low spot. Just wanted to get some input, before i start my platform.

My personal preference is for morning sun with afternoon shade. The reason is that morning sun helps the bees to get going earlier in the day, and afternoon shade gives some relief for the beekeeper doing summer inspections. :blush:

Sun can help to reduce small hive beetle numbers in the hive. Most hives do OK in full sun all day, but it can get too much if the summer gets very hot.

Other important things to consider is try to face the hive entrance south or south east, but do not face it towards areas that people will frequently pass by. Hive entrances can be very close to a fence or wall, with no inconvenience to the bees. :wink:

Hope that helps.

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Thanks for the info. I appreciate it.

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I agree with everything that @Dawn_SD said, except down here it’s ideal to face the entrance N-NE. One more thing to consider when positioning a hive is that bees are attracted to lights at night time.

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I would do partial sun. Not sure what zone you are in. I am in zone 9. Wild swarms tend to move into tree hollows or house eves. If houses are raised they like floor joists. All of those are mostly shade. Swarm season is starting. I recommend you put out some swarm boxes and catch some free bees. It is fun and easy. Do a little research and get in on the fun.