How to look after nucs once you have them home

Your nucleus will be in a ventilated poly /correx nuc. You should get prepared in advance for receiving the nuc to ensure you are able to give the nucleus the best start it needs.

1. GET PREPARED FOR YOUR BEES

Before you receive your nuc ensure you have everything you need to start beekeeping. This includes standard national beehive with DN4 Hoffman Self Spacing frames / foundation, beesuit, feeder, Smoker, gloves, hive tool and hive stand,

​You should also be ready to feed your nucleus colony with 1:1 sugar syrup. 

 

2. ORIENTATION

Place the nuc on beehive stand in your apiary in the exact position where you wish to permanently site your bees. Open the nuc entrance and allow bees to orientate to that position. 

​Leave bees in the nuc for at least 24 hours before transfering into a hive. 

 

3. TRANSFER  NUC TO YOUR HIVE

Remove nuc from stand and replace with beehive, filled with frames and foundation (brood box only). The bees will naturally head towards the new beehive as that's where the bees have orientated to.

​Fill all gaps within the brood box with frames and foundation and replace roof. 

4. START FEEDING YOUR NUC

It is best to feed nuc colonies once they are in the hive. Set up a feeder and feed  with 1:1 sugar syrup (1kg of sugar to 1ltr of water) to assist the bees in drawing out the frames and turning them into honeycomb. 

​Stop feeding when the bees are covering 80% of the frames in the beehive.

 

5. INSPECTIONS

Once the bees are in the beehive, you can start weekly inspections. Inspect the bees every 7 days and ensure they have sufficient space to grow. 

​Check to see if the queen is laying eggs and there is brood in all stages. Keep an eye out for swarm cells and ensure there is enough stores. (food)

 

6. ADD SUPERS ( Honey Boxes )

When the bees are covering 80% of the frames in the brood box, you can add a super. 

​First place the queen excluder onto the brood box and then place the super above the queen excluder. This ensures the queen can only lay in the brood box and only honey is stored within the supers.