Getting Ready for Your New Bees

It’s early April, and we are just a few weeks away from the arrival of honeybee nucleus colonies in our area.

For new beekeepers, this is exciting and also somewhat nerve-wracking. Let’s be honest, no one needs more stress in their lives right now, so we’ll do our very best to make ourselves available to help you through it! Knowing what to have on hand and what to expect when you bring the bees home can do a lot to make the whole thing less stressful and much more fun.

In this post, we’ll talk about what you’ll want to have ready in advance of bringing your new nucleus colony to the apiary.

L-R, empty medium box, extra deep frames, in-hive feeder, deep hive box, stack with solid bottom board, screened board, inner and out covers, a chicken named Becky. The chicken is optional.

What to have set up:

• stand or secure base to place the hive on (cinder blocks, etc.)

• bottom board/screen board/slat board (whatever you’ve decided to use)

• deep hive body (must have at least one deep box, nuc frames are deep)

• 5 additional frames (3 for 8 frame boxes)

• inner cover

• outer cover

• additional empty hive box (deep or medium)

• in-hive feeder

Of course, there are lots of ways to do things. This list is what we recommend, and what you’ll see me demo in this video.

If the video seems rushed or I seem annoyed, this is what immediately preceded the filming.