Hiving the Nucleus

The weather forecast said that this morning would be about the warmest and driest it is going to be for a few days. - Temperature was about 19 degreesC, so I was keen to move the nuc into the hive so that the bees could get used to the feeder etc. - If they can't get out much in the rain to find forage in their new home, I didn't want them to be too hungry. - Warmest time of the day was supposed to be around 12:00, so this is when I moved the nuc.

The nucleus was 6 frames, so the first thing I did was to measure the frames and make sure they would fit in the new hive. - Turned out I needed shave about 5mm off the dummy board I made up yesterday to ensure they would fit OK.  Once this was done, I made space in the brood box for 6 frames, and removed the dummy board.  I lit the smoker, and donned the bee suit.  I filled the feeder, and made sure I'd run through the plan in my mind so that I'd not have the bees exposed for longer than I had to.

I put the new hive parts near the nuc in easy reach,  then I gave the nuc a little smoke through the bottom, and the entrance, and gave the bees a few minutes to start filling up with honey etc in the nuc.

Next, I moved the nuc down from the hive stand and set it on the floor in front of the hive stand.



I put the brood box from the new hive onto the hive base which was already on top of the stand.

Next, I started to remove the frames from the nuc and put into the new hive.  - There being no dummy board in the nuc, it's impossible to take out the first frame without 'rolling' the bees! - In hindsight I could have removed those yellow clips / spacers on the top of the frames to give myself a little more wiggle room, but I didn't think of it in the heat of the moment.


I had a quick check of the frames to see if I could see the queen - she is supposed to be marked, but unfortunately I never did see her. - There was some young grubs, so she must have been in there recently but I didn't see her today.  I guess I just have to assume that she is there for now, and check again later in the week if there is a good day and look for eggs.

After taking out the first frame which you see above, the rest were easy enough.  They were popped into the new hive in the same order and the same orientation as they came out of the nuc. - The idea is that the brood nest is 'undisturbed'.  In fact, it seems like a big upheaval to me, but bees seem to sort themselves out pretty well.



The comb on the last frame here suffered a little bit - there was some attachment to the box, and it ripped out a lump of honey stores where it had been joined and I'd not spotted it.  I guess the bees will repair it soon enough.

So - here they are in their new home.  Frames of foundation and dummy board are in place.


Bees remaining in the nuc were encouraged out with a thump on the bottom of the box, and judicious use of the brush.



The bees seemed a little reluctant to move down at this stage, and I probably gave them a little too much smoke as encouragement as it seemed to agitate them more than any other effect - I hope they appreciate I'm a beginner and just doing my best - they seem pretty tolerant so far.

There doesn't seem to be any 'good' information about exactly how to build up the hive once you've moved the nuc, and one piece I read said I should put the queen excluder on top of the brood box now, with the feeder directly on top of that, however to me that just makes it more difficult for the bees to reach the feeder. - So, I just put the crown board on top of the brood box, the feeder on top of that - the empty super around the feeder, and then finally the roof.  I don't know if it's right, but I'm sure it will be OK. - The bees have some sorting out to do and getting used to their new home to do much else currently.



I took the entrance block out  to give the flying bees a better chance of finding the entrance again, but replaced it after a couple of hours. - They seem to be finding their way in and out OK now.

So - in conclusion, it all went according to plan with the exception that I didn't see the queen.  I hope to goodness she wasn't one of the bees that suffered in taking out the first frame, but there's little I can do now even if she was. - The object of the exercise today wasn't to find the queen, but to ensure the hive was moved to the new accommodation - for now I've got to assume she made the move, and I can check for eggs later in the week.

Scary stuff, and my first solo manipulation of the bees.  Despite all the stress of the delivery / pickup yesterday, and then moving them today, they are really good natured so far.  I could stand 2-3 feet from the hive in shorts / T-Shirt quite happily just an hour or so after the move even though there were a considerable number of bees still looking around a little bewildered at the changes.