Site a small UK apiary yourself: rotate hive entrances, space the hives, grow a windbreak/flight-path screen, and sweep the sun across the day to see how the layout shapes forager activity, drift risk and neighbour safety.
How it works ▾
Prevailing wind and shade are fixed from the north/west, matching the article's UK guidance, while you control the entrance orientation. Sun exposure at the entrance follows the angle between the sun's compass bearing and the entrance:
exposure = clamp(cos(θsun − θentrance), 0, 1)
The windbreak reduces wind-chill loss the more of the recommended ~2 m height it reaches. Forager activity combines both:
activity = exposure × (1 − 0.6×(1 − hedge/2m))
Drift risk falls as hives are spaced further apart, since bees identify their own entrance more reliably with distance and landmarks:
drift = clamp(100 − spacing×35, 0, 100)
Flight clearance checks whether a departing bee's typical climb angle carries it over the boundary hedge before reaching the two-metre line the article recommends for sites near people — dashed arcs turn red when a hive's flight path would clear the hedge too low.
- Orientation — south/south-east (≈135°) catches the earliest sun.
- Spacing — wider gaps cut drift but need more room.
- Hedge height — ~2 m lifts flight paths clear of neighbours and cuts wind chill.
- Time of day — sweeps the sun to show how exposure changes through the day.