Our Method of Beekeeping
Hiving Up a Nuc
Nuc and Destination Hive
Today (8th March) with the temperature at 17°C it is ideal weather to move an over wintered nuc into a hive. The nuc is very active and has consumed 1kg of fondant in four days, a sure sign of increasing colony size.
Our Paynes nucs have been modified from standard deep frames in the bottom to shallow frames. They have eight shallow Hoffman frames in the bottom and a further eight in the top. The Abelo hive shallow boxes can take eleven frames therefore three extra frames per box will be needed for this move.
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Preparation
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We start by moving the nuc in front of its plinth and the hive replaces the nuc’s position on the plinth. Place the hive lid nearby as this will be needed when the nuc is split.
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Put two extra frames in Box 1, preferably with drawn comb. We have chosen the right hand side. It doesn’t matter if you choose the right or the left but it is important that you are consistent for both the bottom and top hive boxes. Split the nuc so that the top part is stood on the hive lid. This is VERY important as the queen is likely to be in the top part of the nuc.
Moving the Frames
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Carefully lift out one frame at a time from the nuc and place in the hive Box 1. It is very important that the nuc frames stay in the same order as they were in the nuc so that you do not disrupt the nest area. As you lift out each frame inspect it for stores, eggs, larvae, capped brood and the queen. If you see the queen then you know she has been safely transferred to the hive.
Once you have moved all of the nuc frames you will have one more frame to insert to make up the full complement of frames in Box 1.
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Move the upturned hive lid as close as you can to the hive. Place Box 2 on top of Box1 and add two frames to the same end as you used for Box 1. Remove the nuc feeder and lid and repeat the process of transferring the frames one at a time from the nuc to the hive. If you did not see the queen when filling Box 1 then she should be on one of these Box 2 frames. It is important, but not critical, to try and spot her so you know your new hive is viable.
Once you have filled Box 2 don’t forget to add the extra frame. If you do forget the bees will start to create brace comb between the end frame and the side wall of the box. If you have not seen the queen when transferring the frames carefully check the upturned hive lid and the now empty nuc box. In the case of this transfer from nuc to hive we had not seen the queen on any of the frames. She had fallen off and we found here in the hive lid (panic over).
Place the empty nuc near to the new hive for a few minutes so that stragglers get the message to fly to the new “home”. With the queen safely inside this will not take long.
Transfer Completion
The insulation and crown board are now placed on the top box. Once this is done the cluster of bees are secured from the outside world. Add the lid and strap down the hive. The remaining bees on the outside of the hive will soon find their way into the hive.
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