Picking up a nuc? Not sure what to do? We have a brief How to Install a Nucvideo that covers the steps you need to take.
What you need
You will need to have a hive stand, bottom box, lid, hive tool and empty frames (3-5) ready. Prior to bringing your nuc home, place your hive stand where your hive will be permanently located.
Assembling your new hive
When you bring your nuc home, you will place the nuc on the bottom box, open the front entrance on the nuc box, and leave it there for 24 hours. After 24 hours, you will remove the nuc box from the hive stand and assemble your hive.
Place the bottom box on the hive stand. Place two empty frames at the outer edges of the box.
Very slowly, remove the first frame from the nuc box (do this slowly to ensure you don’t squish the queen!).
Place the frames in the centre of the box until all frames from the nuc are in the bottom box.
Varroa mitesare the most deadly pest affecting western bees and can kill bee colonies in short periods of time. Monitoring and testing throughout the spring and summer is essential to keeping your hive healthy. If varroa mites are not properly treated throughout the beekeeping season, it can destroy an entire colony.
New beekeepers can find themselves intimidated with new terminology and all the parts that come along with beekeeping. Some of them can be self explanatory and some look like an alien contraption. We always strongly recommend taking a beekeeping course or getting a mentor so that you’re introduced to the new terms and equipment you will be expected to use. However, for those of you that want to jump in, here’s a brief overview of the essential parts that go into the house of your bee colony living in a Langstroth hive.