swarm in nuc

[emcgarrah]

i caught a swarm today. it was almost as big as a basketball. bees seem to be happy comming and going so i'm sure i have the queen. they are in a 5 fram nuc and i would like to know how long i could leave them in the nuc. i'm almost done with the main hive, i wasn't ready for a swarm yet because i've took two hives out of walls this year. thanks to all..

[odfrank]

Not long. I had a large bait swarm leave a 5 frame nuc the next day because it was too small.

[Ben Brewcat]

Take a look once they're settled in. If they look crowded, move them to a full-size box. Probably won't be long, but they'll draw you some nice comb in the meantime!

[Fuzzy]

A week is good, 3 weeks is too long...

A week gives them time to settle in and define that as their home.
In three weeks, they will fill the box with brood and will not be happy when you try to move them. Just did that myself and it wasn't pretty.