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7 Posts
Hello All,
Yesterday, I noticed a bunch of my bees from my stronger hive out in front on a cement brick about a foot from the hive entrance. I have been feeding both my hives sugar syrup, and this hive normally has taken less than my other hive, but for some reason they finished a quart faster then normal. I had a spare 3 frame nuc with empty frames so I gathered as many bees as I could and put them in the empty nuc. I had to go to work so I left them like this for the day. When I got home, nuc box was empty and no bees were outside the hive. The next morning, the bees were outside the hive again, but underneath this time. I had a little more time so I went through the hive and found some queen cells. This time, I grabbed one frame with a two nice queen cells and brood, and another with some honey and brood. I also added an empty frame to the 3 frame nuc box. I gathered the bees and put them in the nuc box and taped the entrance so they cannot escape.
My question is what next? This is my first year bee keeping. How long should I keep them in the nuc box before I open it back up? How long does a queen take to hatch after being capped (both cells were capped)? I also left a couple queen cells in the original hive just in case something happened to the original queen (she was marked, but I didn't find her).
Thank you in advance for the help!
Yesterday, I noticed a bunch of my bees from my stronger hive out in front on a cement brick about a foot from the hive entrance. I have been feeding both my hives sugar syrup, and this hive normally has taken less than my other hive, but for some reason they finished a quart faster then normal. I had a spare 3 frame nuc with empty frames so I gathered as many bees as I could and put them in the empty nuc. I had to go to work so I left them like this for the day. When I got home, nuc box was empty and no bees were outside the hive. The next morning, the bees were outside the hive again, but underneath this time. I had a little more time so I went through the hive and found some queen cells. This time, I grabbed one frame with a two nice queen cells and brood, and another with some honey and brood. I also added an empty frame to the 3 frame nuc box. I gathered the bees and put them in the nuc box and taped the entrance so they cannot escape.
My question is what next? This is my first year bee keeping. How long should I keep them in the nuc box before I open it back up? How long does a queen take to hatch after being capped (both cells were capped)? I also left a couple queen cells in the original hive just in case something happened to the original queen (she was marked, but I didn't find her).
Thank you in advance for the help!