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casaravenbees2017-04-30 12:20 pm
greenwapiti) wrote in casaravenbees2017-04-30 12:20 pm
April 1, 2017 The First Colony
We had the opportunity to get a colony from some friends up in Broward County. rubibees was out of town, but we had all of the equipment and training to get started, so we decided I'd go get them. I packed up a nuc (5-frame nucleus hive) with solid bottom and top boards, some duct tape, bungee cords, the smoker, and my bee suit. I was happy and excited!
I got up to Bridget and Riekin's place at about 5:45 pm, so there was enough time to transfer the frames before dark. Riekin checked over my equipment and recommended that we put a small device in the bottom of my nuc that would held stablize the frames for transport, which we did.
We all suited up and checked the nuc they'd stored the swarm in that recently came off of their "rescue" hive (a small cut out that they got locally). There was a bit of cross-combing between the frames, so Riekin cut through that gently and took a small amount of it off where the bees were drawing comb so far along the edges that they were establishing bee space under the frame bar, instead of between the frames. The frames were transferred to our nuc, which we then put in the same place as their nuc had been so the colony's foragers and scouts could easily find it. The hive didn't get riled up at all, and we all went out to dinner until after dark to let all of the foragers and scouts get back.
After dinner, I screwed a block over the entrance, bungeed everything tightly, and got it into the back of my Camry with the frames aligned with the direction of the car to minimize any problems in transit. I seat-belted the nuc in place, and wrapped it in a sheet in case any bee somehow escaped the nuc in transit (none did). The hive was really quiet the whole way home, and the drive was about 40 minutes. I got the nuc set on a cement block stand by 11:00 pm and got it opened up. A few bees explored the entrance area, but I didn't see any scouting flights right away and left the hive for the night.
The last frame in the old nuc
The new nuc with 4 of 5 frames
The nuc readied for transport!
The nuc at Casa Raven!
rubibees was out of town, but we had all of the equipment and training to get started, so we decided I'd go get them. I packed up a nuc (5-frame nucleus hive) with solid bottom and top boards, some duct tape, bungee cords, the smoker, and my bee suit. I was happy and excited! I got up to Bridget and Riekin's place at about 5:45 pm, so there was enough time to transfer the frames before dark. Riekin checked over my equipment and recommended that we put a small device in the bottom of my nuc that would held stablize the frames for transport, which we did.
We all suited up and checked the nuc they'd stored the swarm in that recently came off of their "rescue" hive (a small cut out that they got locally). There was a bit of cross-combing between the frames, so Riekin cut through that gently and took a small amount of it off where the bees were drawing comb so far along the edges that they were establishing bee space under the frame bar, instead of between the frames. The frames were transferred to our nuc, which we then put in the same place as their nuc had been so the colony's foragers and scouts could easily find it. The hive didn't get riled up at all, and we all went out to dinner until after dark to let all of the foragers and scouts get back.
After dinner, I screwed a block over the entrance, bungeed everything tightly, and got it into the back of my Camry with the frames aligned with the direction of the car to minimize any problems in transit. I seat-belted the nuc in place, and wrapped it in a sheet in case any bee somehow escaped the nuc in transit (none did). The hive was really quiet the whole way home, and the drive was about 40 minutes. I got the nuc set on a cement block stand by 11:00 pm and got it opened up. A few bees explored the entrance area, but I didn't see any scouting flights right away and left the hive for the night.
The last frame in the old nuc
The new nuc with 4 of 5 frames
The nuc readied for transport!
The nuc at Casa Raven!