I am currently using vacant brood chambers to catch new swarms as there are many swarms moving around now and it seems to work quite well. Almost all hives have many bees active at their entrances all day but in the late afternoons when I check the hives, they do not all have swarms in them. The bees around the empty hives could be scouts of potential new swarms, but I'm concerned that they are from the swarms that have already moved into the other hives and are getting lost/confused. What is the suggested minimum distance that hives should be from each other to avoid the bees getting lost/confused?
Also, I've read that the placement of hives in a symmetrical fashion is not suggested as this can make it difficult for the bees to recognise their hive, is there any truth in this? If so is it sufficient to simply stagger the hives and/or face them in different directions?
Any input would be much appreciated, thanks.