Second year keeper kind of. (Bees absconded last year.) I will get my 5 frame nuc tomorrow to transfer into my first flow hive. The merchant said that it will come with frames of brood, nectar and honey. Should I put the honey frame in the brood chamber or the flow super? It’s not a flow frame. But I want to direct the bees to the flow frames. How do you all do it? Thanks in advance!!
Hi and welcome! Put all the nuc frames into your brood box, in the center. Add empty frames on either side. Do not add a super of any kind - your bees will not be ready for that until they’ve fully built an appropriate brood area for your region (1-2 deeps).
With new Flow frames, a strong population of bees is needed to wax up the cells before they can start storing nectar. Most beeks in the US including me just east of you in PA will not be able to use a Flow super in the very first season of beekeeping. Your area is a lot like mine - nectar flow has reached its peak for the season and will start dropping to dearth in end of June or early July. Focus on helping your bees get a healthy start on brood rearing and plan your varroa mite strategy to get them through fall & winter
Thank you so much! Would you suggest giving them pollen or sugar syrup at all to help them along?
You bet! Good question - nucs usually don’t need to be fed unless it’s very cold/early. Clover & other flowers are still abundant here and I think you’ll see foragers out and about from the get-go. If there’s sealed brood in the nuc they’ll emerge very soon and more foragers will become available.