Moving a swam

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Paddy_Power

New Bee
Joined
May 12, 2020
Messages
5
Reaction score
1
Location
Ireland
Hive Type
None
I unintentionally caught a swarm today, it took up residence in an old wooden box. I transferred what I could to a 5frame nuc, as I had no spare hives, and removed the woden box and left the nuc in its place and the remaining bees made there way in. The issue I have is it’s in a terrible location, it’s right beside where the kids play and where people walk and the nuc is packed with bees. I will be moving the nuc to my apiary in the morning, but I’m afraid they won’t stay in the nuc for too long. How soon after I move them to the apiary could I transfer them to a national hive? And what are the chances of them absconding the nuc due to crowding. They landed at 1pm and have stayed in the nuc since then, they have one frame of drawn comb and 4 frames of foundation.
 
The swarm I caught recently, was quite happy in the nuc I popped them into...they started building comb straightaway...I transferred them over to a hive about a week or so later. But I could have transferred them sooner...timing was to suit me more than the bees. No reason why you can't transfer straight away really, maybe give them a feed to help encourage staying in their new home.
 

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