First Nuc Ready to Come Home

For the first time in over 35 years I am a beekeeper.  The weather was very cooperative so I went to Sam's place to put the over-wintered nuc he had selected for me into my own box.  His nuc consisted of two 5-frame boxes and we selected 5-frames to start my first colony.  The bees were strong and we picked out 5 frames with lots of capped brood and developing brood.  There were also ample stores of honey and pollen to carry them through the first few days.  We found the queen and made sure she was included in the transfer.  As the bees were flying (and we saw some bringing in pollen) we left the new box in the same location as the nuc had been sitting so the foragers could find their way back to their new home.  At first, the ones returning seemed a bit confused at the new entrance but they soon overcame their uncertainty and entered the hive.  At dusk, Sam will close up the entrance so I can pick up the hive in the morning without losing any bees to the field.

This shows me examining one of the frames as Sam watches closely.

More tomorrow when I bring the ladies home.

(March 31)  The trip home was delayed as Sam decided to add the rest of the frames from the (now) queenless nucs.  So the sisters had to get reacquainted after their overnight separation and that meant some foragers would sally forth doing bee business.  So after they all come home tonight, Sam will close the door to keep them in and I will pick them up tomorrow morning (I hope he's not planning an April Fool joke!).

(April 1)  I picked up the hive this morning and brought the ladies to their new home.  I haven't had a meaningful conversation with them yet and it is a bit cool this morning but a few bees have poked their heads out the entrance to look around.  They appear to be orienting themselves and, I guess, going back into the hive to inform their sisters that this might not be too bad a place to live.  The weather folks say it might get to 60-62 F this afternoon, so maybe more will come out to look around.