[John Scifres]

I had several swarm cells in my hive and my woodenware supplier loaned me a nuc box. It holds 4 deep frames. I added a couple frames of drawn comb with stores and let them do their thing. That was on May 5th. They seem to be doing well with lots of bees flying in and out.

I checked yesterday and they have drawn out about half of the other 2 frames. I haven't yet done a full inspection to check for the queen.

At what point do I move the 4 frames into the 10 frame deep?

 

[Andrew Dewey]

The date will be based on an inspection not the calendar. You want the bees to build up in their nuc box until they have all the frames drawn out and a strong population going. Bees do better in a hive area that it is size appropriate for their population. I use the same criteria as I do for adding an additional box to the brood chamber: all frames completely drawn and 90% of the frames are in use. I tend to wait a little longer than most. If you were buying this nuc instead of making it, you'd hear something from the supplier - it could be "get 'em installed quick, they're booming." Since you made up the nuc, you need to be the one giving the message, and to do that you'll need to get into the nuc.

 

[John Scifres]

Excellent answer. Thanks Andrew!