Few First Time Questions

[PhilK]

G'day,

Some of you may have seen my thread about looking for nucs in Brisbane.. well, we found some and they got delivered last night! They outgrew their nuc boxes so are in 10 frame boxes awaiting us to transfer them into our boxes. Waking up to two hives in the yard is pretty exciting. I just have a few questions that have been crossing my mind recently, so any help is really appreciated!

1. Positioning - the guy who delivered them was nice enough to adjust the positioning so they face north-northeast, but one of the hives is still in shade when the sun comes up (it'll end up getting sun probably around noon or so). Should we move them so they both get sun?

2. They're on a bit of a slope, does that matter?

3. If they got delivered last night, how long should we wait before transferring them into our own boxes?

4. How often should we be checking them after transferring them to see if they're going OK? Weekly?

5. When will we know it is time to put a super on? I assume when we see they are full?

6. They are in our yard, and there's a guy who mows our lawn from time to time. I read somewhere bees will attack you for mowing etc around their hives - for those of you with hives in your yard, how do you mow your grass?

Sorry for all the questions - I have done a lot of reading but it's good to get some confirmation from other beeks too!

Cheers
Philk

[SlickMick]

Not being the most knowledgeable what I would do is

Q1 give them both as much sun as you can
Q2 .get them as level as you can. Any slope should drain to the entrance
Q3 do it now
Q4 check after a week should be fine
Q5 if the brood box is filling out and there's nectar being brought in I would add the super. Are you using foundation?
Q6 I had the same mower man for 20 years and in the time he was chased just the once. I think it's about how you present yourself to the bees and if they feel threatened

Where are you in Brisbane Phil? I am in Carindale

Mick

[BeeMaster2]

Q6
As long as you do not allow the exhaust, grass or fumes, to hit the hives your lawn man should be fine. Go slow when next to the hives.
Jim

[PhilK]

Thanks for the replies! Will do our best to get them level.

Transferred them today - one hive is going gangbusters and is almost all drawn out, so might get a super onto them soon. The other is a lot weaker, saw a lot of hive beetles in it, and there's a few empty frames of foundation. Have put traps into both hives and will check them weekly to see how they're going.

Any ideas for the weaker hive? Just give them some more time?

[Anybrew2]

You could give the weaker Hive a frame of emerging Brood from the strong one.

[PhilK]

You could give the weaker Hive a frame of emerging Brood from the strong one.

Oh right, that's not a bad idea! Is it as simple as taking a frame of (I assume mostly capped) brood out, getting the bees off, and putting it in to the other hive?

[BeeMaster2]

Just pull a frame of capped brood, put it out side of the hive, take your time and close up that hive, and then open the other hive and add it next to the last brood frame. This way the field bees will go back to the old hive and you can add the nurse bees to the weak hive. You need them to cover that frame.
What is the make up of the weak hive?
Keep it as small as possible. If the bees are trying to protect a larger space than they have bees to cover, they cannot grow.
Jim

[PhilK]

Just pull a frame of capped brood, put it out side of the hive, take your time and close up that hive, and then open the other hive and add it next to the last brood frame. This way the field bees will go back to the old hive and you can add the nurse bees to the weak hive. You need them to cover that frame.
What is the make up of the weak hive?
Keep it as small as possible. If the bees are trying to protect a larger space than they have bees to cover, they cannot grow.
Jim

The weak hive has the cluster up against the left hand side - about 3 frames of brood. Then it has another 3-4 frames of semi drawn comb, and then 3 frames of empty foundation against the right hand side (from memory).
Will the nurse bees from the stronger hive not fight with the ones from the weaker hive?
Do I replace the frame of brood from the stronger hive with plain foundation in the same slot?
Sorry for any dumb questions!

[Ed Gallop]

Being level side to side and with a slight forward tilt so rain will not enter is important. I do not know how cold it gets there in the outback winter but I do try to put mine under deciduous trees, not evergreens, so they get the winter morning sun on the entrance and shade in the summer. I put landscape plastic or cloth under them to help with weeds, although I rarely have been attacked when weedeating and never when riding by on my mower. The guard bees do not like loud noise. The landscape fabric also helps with small hive beetles in that larva can't dig into the ground to pupate. Fine gravel (or hardwood mulch) will make the cloth last longer. I will briefly check my hive a week or two later but leave them alone unless I suspect a problem. I may check my hives deeply once or twice a year and maybe when I remove supers if their numbers appear low or if signs of mites or beetles. If they build queen cells there is usually a good reason. If over crowded I'll may add a super, or split and leave 1 or 2 queen cells in the hive. I may allow them to swarm. When gathering in a beard on the entrance I usually set up an empty hive or two, with frames, 75 to 100 feet away in or near a tree about 5 to 6 feet off the ground. It may catch the swarm.

[BeeMaster2]

"The weak hive has the cluster up against the left hand side - about 3 frames of brood. Then it has another 3-4 frames of semi drawn comb, and then 3 frames of empty foundation against the right hand side (from memory)."
Are these frames covered with bees or are they empty? If empty use these frames to replace the ones from the strong hive. If you place them next to the brood frames, the queen in the strong hive will fill them with eggs, sometimes within 24 hours, right after the bees clean them.

"Will the nurse bees from the stronger hive not fight with the ones from the weaker hive?
No, nurse bees can be moved from hive to hive with out problems. Field bees need to bee introduced to each other with smoke or news paper. Field bees will go back to their original hive if it is still there. I like to leave them out of the hive long enough so that the field bees leave. I do not want to but them in a weak hive to start robbing.
As mentioned on another one of your threads, make sure the queen is not on the frame you move.

"Do I replace the frame of brood from the stronger hive with plain foundation in the same slot?"
Use the empty drawn frames if you have them. They are an excess load on the weak hive and ready made rooms for the strong hive.
"Sorry for any dumb questions!"
No dumb questions here. We all had to ask a lot of questions our selves. We like to answer questions, so keep them coming.
Jim

[Michael Bush]

>1. Positioning - the guy who delivered them was nice enough to adjust the positioning so they face north-northeast, but one of the hives is still in shade when the sun comes up (it'll end up getting sun probably around noon or so). Should we move them so they both get sun?

Sun is nice.  But it's not that big of a deal.

>2. They're on a bit of a slope, does that matter?

Yes.  Too much tilt and they will tip when they get taller.  I would make them level.

>3. If they got delivered last night, how long should we wait before transferring them into our own boxes?

No reason to wait.

>4. How often should we be checking them after transferring them to see if they're going OK? Weekly?

Weekly is a good idea, especially at first.  Later when you have learned more and they are settled in, I would do it less.

>5. When will we know it is time to put a super on? I assume when we see they are full?

80% is the general rule.

>6. They are in our yard, and there's a guy who mows our lawn from time to time. I read somewhere bees will attack you for mowing etc around their hives - for those of you with hives in your yard, how do you mow your grass?

Sometimes.  I always have a veil in my back pocket like this one:
http://www.bugbaffler.com/collections/insect-protection/products/headnet

Sorry for all the questions - I have done a lot of reading but it's good to get some confirmation from other beeks too!

[PhilK]

Thanks very much for all the replies!

This morning we opened the hives and took the 3 empty frames out of the weak hive (they're literally empty frames of foundation with no bees on them) and replaced them with 3 frames of brood/bees/honey from the stronger hive. We saw the queen from the stronger hive and made sure to leave the frame she was on! The strong have should have some more space now and will start drawing the comb on the foundation frames I hope!

We moved them a metre or so so they both get sun, and we have fixed the tilt and ensured they slope forward a bit. We will leave them for a week or so before checking again - don't want to disturb them too often!

Cheers
Phil