New beekeepers have many questions and often wonder what to do with the bees once getting them home. The box the bees come in is not meant for long time use. Its purpose and design is for transporting bees only. You will need to have a permanent hive all set up and ready to go before the bees arrive.
I was all geared up to write this long informative post on how to transfer bees from a 5 frame NUC to a 10 frame hive body. Then I remembered seeing a YouTube video on this. After some research I believe there is plenty of good YouTube videos out there on this subject. So, I decided to just post some here and maybe add my two cents and comments.
It’s always challenging for new beekeepers to see eggs in the bottom of cell. But that is a good way to tell if the queen is doing her job without finding the queen. Feeding a new colony is always good, especially with just foundation with no drawn comb. The feeding stimulates the bees to draw out the comb faster. Yes, use a entrance reducer set to its smallest opening. This helps cut down on robbing from stronger hives.Long winded but she eventually covers the subject! Don’t worry about spraying bees with water unless hot weather. If you do not hive your bees right away, say you want to wait till the next day, set the nuc next to the permanent hive and open the entrance. Bees can fly, cool the hive through the entrance and orientate to this spot until you hive them. Love her hive tool – it works! And her hi-tech entrance reducers! Love it!
If you transport bees in hot weather, run the air conditioner in you car and do not leave the bees in car while parked, like stopping to eat lunch. These small boxes of bees generate lots of heat.