I installed my first nuc three weeks ago. The nuc was a split with a new queen marked pink.
It had four frames and an empty one. I could see brood, and eggs and honey.
I made my first inspection two weeks later but could not see any noticeable increase in numbers. Pink queen was still there.
It is spring here, and plenty of flowers around. When should I expect to see an increase in activity?
Hi nuts. It takes a while for a nuc to develop.
You don’t say where in Australia you are. Some areas are in drought. You may see flowers, but they don’t necessarily have nectar at the time.
Do you see lots of activity in the hive entrance? Could be you don’t have many foragers yet.
Do they have pollen and honey to raise brood?
It always helps to give them a frame of brood with plenty of nurse bees, or to give them a baggie with 1:1 sugar syrup under the roof.
A picture would help us to diagnose what’s going on.
Enjoy your bees!
Thank you Webclan, lots to digest there.
I’m east of Perth, Mundaring. More native bush, less urban gardens.
How do I know whether flowers have nectar? I was wrongly assuming that if there are flowers, they are feeding the bees.
I do see activity at the entrance, I say it is pretty average, with bees leaving and landing regularly, but not very heavy traffic.
I will try to take photos of frames next time I open it up as I’m not sure yet how much pollen and honey is enough.
I cannot give them a frame of brood because that’s the only hive I have, and I’m getting a second nuc this weekend. I was however thinking of feeding them syrup but the guy I bought the nuc from said I don’t have to.
Oh, and I think I did my first rookie mistake - I didn’t put the corflute in the base, so the hive may have been a bit drafty. It is windy here. I now placed it in the upper slot.
Hey nuts,
It’s a good move to get a second hive, that’s for sure.
This time of year I have my corflute in the lower slot to allow better air flow.
I’d also give the nucs a bit of time to develop but post some shots and we can double check for you.
Hiya mate, no were in a Flow currently, no need to feed yet but beware of the summer dearth…
Welcome to the forum, nice to see another hills member.
I have been following your threads. Soak up the info from Skeggley and others around your area.
Don’t expect too much too soon, a nuc takes time to build up in numbers even if there is nectar and pollen about.
About feeding a nuc, it can be a help if there is not a lot of nectar and pollen being brought back to the hive, you can see if the bees are bringing pollen back to the hive, but I found out the hard way that just because there is flowering happening it doesn’t mean there is an abundance of nectar. Most of Australia has had a really bad past 12 months and for the first time ever I had to feed my hives.
The only way to know for sure is to look with each inspection for a steady increase in stores in the cells along with an increase in Larvae and capped brood.
Cheers
Ok thanks for that. Was wondering which slot I should place my corflute at this time of year. I will lower it tonight for better airflow.
I should add, that I also reducd the entrance to about half. Must have read that somewhere. Is that a good idea?
I’m currently obeying random advice I read on books and websites, until I get a grip of what’s best in my area and micro climate.
I have my corflute in the top slot all of the year, worth giving it a try and if the bees are bearding in the heat of the day then I would go for the bottom slot for the corflute as a sign that it is getting too hot in the hive. If you are not seeing bearding then the hive doesn’t need more ventilation. Fanning at the hive entrance is another sign the hive is over heating.
My entrances in my hives are about 100 to 120 wide. I’m making my hives with that as a total width with two entrances with a closure of about 75mm in the centre to cut down a cool draft possibly chilling the brood which are in the middle frames which works well.
Consider for a moment, lowering the corflute will increase air flow but you are also doing the opposite by reducing the entrance. I would just observe what the bees are doing then make changes then. I’m in a warmer climate than you I’m sure so my advice might not be right for you but might not be far wrong. your bees will be forgiving if your not exact too Natasha so there is no harm in experimenting.
Cheers