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Transferring your first nucleus to their new hive can certainly be a daunting task, removing the lid and seeing all those bees that you are now responsible for can make you pause for thought.
Here is exactly how to execute the transfer and avoid the messy mistakes I made on my first try.
1. Let the Bees Reset Their GPS
When arriving home with your nucleus, place the nuc box exactly where your hive will be situated. Face the entrance in the same direction as where the hive entrance will eventually face.
Set the entrance to open and let the bees reset their navigation system to their new location. They do this by flying in a figure-of-eight pattern.
- The Golden Rule: The bees can be left to settle for a day, but should not be left for more than 48 hours, as the risk of swarming is high.
2. The Frame Transfer
Once the new hive is in place, remove the centre frames from the new brood box to make way for the frames from the nuc box.
Carefully remove the lid and squeeze one or two puffs of smoke into the nuc box. Remove the frames one by one and place them in the new brood box. Be sure to keep the frames in exactly the same order.
My First Transfer Disaster: When I transferred my first overwintered nuc, the frames were so heavily laden that one fell apart mid-transfer and landed in a clump on the grass. It was very messy and admittedly, I panicked a little. I didn’t know if I had killed the queen as it was one of the middle frames. I gently scooped up the bees and shook them into the brood box. Unfortunately, I lost the entire frame and the brood included.
3. Shaking Out the Stragglers
Once all your frames are transferred, shake any remaining bees out of the nuc box into the brood box.
Warning: Be incredibly careful not to dump any residual sugar water from the nuc box over your frames! This was the second mishap that I experienced on my first transfer.
Place the crown board on top. If required, add some 1-to-1 sugar water to feed your new colony, and finally, put the roof on your hive.
4. The 7-Day Wait
It is best to let the bees settle in and carry out a full inspection after 7 days. On my first inspection, I was ecstatic to find the queen wandering around the frames completely unharmed.