Old Speckled Hen Posted May 27, 2010 Share Posted May 27, 2010 Collected the nuc this morning and have put it in the place the hive will be. One bee poked her head out,looked at the clouds and went back in sigh............ We have had a heatwave till yesterday and rain is forecast today more sighs............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted May 27, 2010 Share Posted May 27, 2010 Hurrah! Don't worry, they won't be put off by a bit of rain. When are you going to transfer them to the hive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted May 27, 2010 Author Share Posted May 27, 2010 Hi Olly, It's a bit blowy and showery and about 11 degrees here at the moment. They came in a wooden box,not quite a nuc hive, with ventilation on the top so I have put my nuc hive roof on top to keep the rain off. I was told by my mentor and the guy who supplied the bees to put them where the hive will be and transfer them tomorrow. Does anybody here think it's worth inverting the sugar syrup that I will feed tomorrow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted May 27, 2010 Share Posted May 27, 2010 Er ... what does 'inverting' mean? Forgive my ignorance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted May 27, 2010 Author Share Posted May 27, 2010 It means splitting the sucrose of sugar into fructose and glucose, the two main components of honey. Since it more closely resembles honey by being made up of the same two components it is supposed to be more easily digested by the bees. It involves heating the syrup for a short while having added a little (1 teaspoon per lb) lemon juice or cream of tartar. I think the lemon juice simply changes the pH somewhere towards that of honey as I'm sure you can invert sugar simply by boiling it ....if I remember my chemistry. Anyway, I made some and will try it tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedruggist Posted May 27, 2010 Share Posted May 27, 2010 Got my first nuc too on Wednesday, the delivery bloke (or blokess) put them straight into the beehaus for me. Had a quick peek this evening as I wanted to add some feed and check they were all still there! All seemed OK, I just did a very quick check and noticed that there was (presumably) a queen cage attached to one of the middle frames. I didn't look to see if the queen was in as it was getting chilly. If her majesty is still in the cage do I release her (and when) or does she get out in her own sweet time? Thanks in advance. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenanne Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Tony, I'm guessing the queen cage is stopped up at one end with fondant/candy? The idea is that the bees will chew through to release the queen themselves, such that they can get used to her pheremone and therefore accept her. If a queen is just dumped into a hive then the bees can reject her - there is a risk that they ball her and kill her in so doing. Personally I would re-check in a couple of days (don't do a full inspection as they'll need to settle, but just check the queen cage). BUT I have never received bees in this way so you may want to check with someone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedruggist Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 Thanks chickenanne, have now done a couple of inspections and see queenie each time even though she's unmarked. All seems well and they're busy drawing out the foundation. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
