The best way to Start a Honey Bee Hive is with Nucleus Colonies in Spring.
Arrive Prepared to Transport your Nucleus Colonies (Live Bees!)
State of NC Inspection of Nucleus Colonies
You will be transporting a box of live honey bees!
Tie straps if going into the back of a truck or use a mesh nuc bag or old bedsheet to wrap the nuc loosely.
Bring a smoker and bee suit with you, in case of mishap during your trip home.
On warm days, strong nucs must be kept cool during transport. Do not leave them in an enclosed car or trunk. The bees may overheat and die!
Once You’re Home
Time to eat! Our Nucleus Colonies ‘Nucs’ generally go out very strong and full of brood and will be HUNGRY! Feed them sugar syrup immediately when you arrive home.
Installing Nucleus Colonies is Simple!
Watch our informational video on Installing your Nucleus Colonies:
Remove frame from an empty hive to make room for the ones inside the nuc.
Place the Nuclues Colony ‘Nuc’ beside the hive keeping the same orientation as the hive.
Gently give the nuc a few puffs of smoke to the bees inside the nuc.
Remove the lid to get access to the frames with the bees.
Give them some more smoke as needed but only enough to drive the bees down.
Gently but deliberately loosen the frames with your hive tool and remove the first frame.
Be careful to not roll or squish the bees or possibly the queen. Squashed bees release alarm pheromone which can make the bees aggressive.
Inspect the frames one at a time looking for food, bees, eggs, larvae, and with luck, the queen and place the frames into the new hive keeping them in the same order and positions they were inside the nuc box.
Inspect the now mostly empty nuc box for remaining bees and/or the queen. They can be gently tapped into the hive or in the case of the queen, caught and placed into the hive.
Introduce a feeder if needed to subsidize food until a nectar flow starts.
Replace the inner cover and lid and wait a week to 10 days before inspecting their progress.
Leave the nuc box out beside the hive to allow for any last stragglers to find their way to the colony.
Keep feeding as needed and regulate space as the bee colony expands.
Questions or Concerns?
The success of your colony and hive means success for local bees!
If you have any questions or concerns about the transportation or installation of your Nucleus Colony, please contact our resident beekeepers.
Bee Social
Join local beekeepers the third Wednesday of each month at 6:30pm right here at Garden Supply Co.
