5 Useful Articles for New Beekeepers: Homing Your New Bees

Every experienced beekeeper has experienced the highs and lows of maintaining their hives over the course of the year. For new beekeepers homing your new bees is an important step in ensuring your first year with bees starts off on the right foot. Every beekeeper will give you a different answer based on their experiences and we hope that these articles will give you something to think about. This spring we will be posting some videos as we install new packages and nucs. In the meantime, here are five articles that provide valuable insights for new beekeepers looking to rehome bees from either a nucleus (nuc) or a package. Click on the green link to read the full articles.

1. Right Way To Transfer Bees From Nuc To Hive - BeekeepingStudy: This article provides a detailed step-by-step guide on how to transfer bees from a nuc to a hive. It covers everything from smoking the bees to calm them, carefully removing frames from the nuc, placing them in the hive, ensuring the queen is safely transferred, and managing the remaining bees. This guide emphasizes the importance of doing this process very slowly and carefully to ensure the safety of the bees and the success of the transfer​​.

2. Top 10 Nuc Tips for New Bees - Apalachee Beekeepers Association: This article offers practical tips for new beekeepers getting their nucs or packages. It includes advice on being prepared with the right equipment and location, understanding what you’re getting from your supplier, installing bees into your hive, feeding the bees, and using your phone camera to document and ask questions about your hive​​.

3. Installing a Nuc into a Hive (Step by Step) - Carolina Honeybees: This step-by-step guide provides detailed instructions for installing a nuc into a full-size hive. It covers preparing yourself with proper beekeeping gear, using a smoker, opening the empty hive, carefully transferring the nuc frames, shaking remaining bees into the new hive, feeding the bees, and using an entrance reducer. It also includes tips on picking up your nuc and what to do if you need to delay the nuc installation​​.

4. How to Install a Honey Bee Package or Nuc - Betterbee: This article would provide instructions and advice on installing package bees and nucs. It's likely to cover topics such as the ideal time for installation, the preparation of the hive, and the care and feeding of the bees during the initial period following installation​​.

5. Beekeeping Class for Beginners - Online - Carolina Honeybees: For those who prefer a more comprehensive learning approach, this online beekeeping class for beginners offered by Carolina Honeybees is an excellent resource. It covers various aspects of beekeeping, including beehive setup, hive inspection tips, a beekeeping calendar, and honey harvesting methods. This class is a great way to increase your chances of beekeeping success by learning the basics first​​.

Each of these resources offers valuable information and practical advice to help new beekeepers successfully rehome their bees, whether starting with a nuc or a package.