Disclaimer:

This blog explains how I keep bees. It works for me, it might not work for you. Use my methods at your own risk. Always wear protective clothing and use a smoker when working bees.

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Sunday, April 12, 2020

Nuc's in the garage


I have been an advocate for installing package bees into five frame nucs for a long time. I saw this weather coming and I knew this was the way I will be starting my bees this year. Obviously if the current weather and for the foreseeable future would have been warm, I would have hived the bees in ten frame equipment.
 I put the bees in the nucs, they have a cap and ladder feeder and four frames of drawn comb. So there is syrup and a pollen patty on all of the nucs. The entrances are shut and the bees cannot get out. The garage is not heated, but it is dry with no wind blowing on the hive. The nuc's are a small box so the bees will not have any problems keeping themselves warm.
  My plan is to leave them in my garage until Friday. Then I will set them out in my beeyard right in front of the hive that I will move them into. The entrances will be opened, the bees will be able to forage as normal. The queen acceptance will be checked about an hour after I open the entrances. The bees will need to settle down before I go pulling frames. I will leave them in the nuc box until the weather is a little more stable. Whenever that happens, I will then move them into their 10 frame hive.