Where to move your nuc. You must move your nuc at least 2 kilometres away from its home. If you don’t, most of the field bees will fly out of the nuc and return to the old site. You will lose those bees. If the distance from where you move the nuc is less than 2 kilometres away from your bee yard you will have to first move the nuc 2 kilometres away from both the old and new sites. Leave it there for 2 weeks. Then move it to your bee yard. After 2 weeks most of the field bees will have died, and the new field bees won’t know where the old hive site is.

How to move you nuc. Don’t remove any frames from your nuc for a few days before you move it. This way the frames will be stuck with propolis. They won’t move around and smash your bees, or queen, when you move the nuc. Remove the lid and cover the top of the nuc box with mosquito screen. Now, no bees can get out. If it is very hot when you are moving the bees, you can remove the lid and they will not get too hot. Use screening to close up the entrance, or stuff the entrance with leaves or foam rubber.

When to move your nuc. Close up your nuc in the evening after dark, or early morning before light so that all of the field bees are inside the nuc when it is closed. Use smoke to chase all of the bees into the hive from around the entrance before you close it.

CAUTIONS:

• Try not to bang or bump the nuc around too much.

• If travelling on rough roads or seas protect the nuc from bouncing around.

• Don’t leave the nuc in direct sunlight.

• Put a few drops of water on the screen if it is a hot day.

• When you get your nuc to its new site, place it on the hive stand where you want it to stay.

• Open the entrance and replace the lid.

• Leave the bees alone for a few days so they can get used to their new home.

• You do not need to remove the mosquito screen from the top of your hive for a few days.

After 4 days, remove the mosquito screen and check your nuc to make sure the queen wasn’t killed or lost during transport. If you see eggs after 4 days you know that the queen survived the trip. In time, all 4 frames will be full and there will be a large population of bees in your nuc. It is time to think about transferring the bees and frames into a standard (10 frame) hive box.