My new colony

[BumbbleBee]

That acquaintance I mentioned in my previous post has put his nuc box at my place about a week ago (I think on 15th or 16th March). I placed some mango leaves near the entrance when he left his nuc box (making sure it wont obstruct their path). Their traffic has been good. I think the density is pretty high, although not overcrowded. He hasn't ported the colony to my hive yet.

Here's a coarse sketch of the location of the nuc box, where I would place my hive later.


It's inside the house, and behind the bars, so that the box will be secure and bees still get very wide space for their paths. So I'm waiting for him to shift the colony into my hive, with my fingers crossed. :pop:

Do you have any suggestions on what to should I do post shifting?

[rwlaw]

Do you have drawn comb for them? Is your nectar flow enough for them to draw it and grow into the new hive? If you don't have either, your going to have to feed. Ask your friend if you have to.

[BumbbleBee]

Unfortunately, I don't have drawn comb. He said he'll give 3 drawn combs along with the colony. So they still have to build 5 more for the brood chamber alone.

Fortunately, the nectar flow is on, and should be good.

This is the place where the hive will be kept, if you'd like to take a look at the surrounding area:
https://www.google.com/maps/preview?q=13.415392+75.256629
I'll share the actual photos soon.

I've managed to get 8 foundation sheets made of wax for the super (~$2.4). Also got a mask (~$1.7) and a smoker (~$3.7).

[BumbbleBee]

Should I place the honey super right after setting up the hive, or should I wait till they build combs in their brood chamber first and then place it?

[rwlaw]

Bees naturally move upward, so you want to get them to expand the brood nest sideways as much as you can. I wait until they have started on the brood side of the outside frames before adding upper boxes. You have to be careful at that point, if the bees have a tendency to swarm, they might want to build queen cells.
 How many frame boxes are you using?

[BumbbleBee]

Bees naturally move upward, so you want to get them to expand the brood nest sideways as much as you can. I wait until they have started on the brood side of the outside frames before adding upper boxes. You have to be careful at that point, if the bees have a tendency to swarm, they might want to build queen cells.

OK. What will I have to do if they build queen cells?

How many frame boxes are you using?

If you mean the frame capacity of the boxes, these are 8-frame boxes. If you meant the number of boxes I have, I have bought 4 hives, one of which is expected to be set up in a day or two. I will have 3 spare brood chambers and honey supers each, in case I can use them to build more brood combs or store more nectar.

[rwlaw]

 Sorry, should've phrased that different about the queen cells. I should've said swarm preparation, something you don't want, check with your friend he'll know better than us about your swarming times.
 Like I said wait until they start on the inside of the outer frames to add another box, that way you won't make them feel crowded.