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We're just sitting here twiddling our thumbs and waiting. I realize things are running late this year due to the nasty winter and late spring, but things are blooming all over, our mentor is getting 3-pound weight increases per day on his hives, and we feel like we're missing the party. Plus, our plans are on hold because when the nucs are ready, we must be as well.
It took a while but we finally broke the code. Our bee supplier is using frames of bees returning from the almonds to populate the workers in our nucs. The queens are "California girls", Carniolans with hygienic habits and, I suppose, a tan. We expected nucs "mid April" but the last word was that they would get the frames of bees on April 23. I presume that means they inspect, drop the frames in a nuc box, and add a queen. Which I guess means they'll free her in about 3 days. And they supposedly verify that she's laying. Yet somehow they still maintain we'll get our nucs "mid to late April."
So, can you integrate a new queen into a nuc in 6-7 days and be sure she has been freed, hasn't been killed, and is laying? Would that be enough for a good supplier to say the nuc is ready?
Kinda wished I'd looked for the fine print, but I'm sure overwintered nucs are more expensive and harder to find.
It took a while but we finally broke the code. Our bee supplier is using frames of bees returning from the almonds to populate the workers in our nucs. The queens are "California girls", Carniolans with hygienic habits and, I suppose, a tan. We expected nucs "mid April" but the last word was that they would get the frames of bees on April 23. I presume that means they inspect, drop the frames in a nuc box, and add a queen. Which I guess means they'll free her in about 3 days. And they supposedly verify that she's laying. Yet somehow they still maintain we'll get our nucs "mid to late April."
So, can you integrate a new queen into a nuc in 6-7 days and be sure she has been freed, hasn't been killed, and is laying? Would that be enough for a good supplier to say the nuc is ready?
Kinda wished I'd looked for the fine print, but I'm sure overwintered nucs are more expensive and harder to find.