Nuc Box with shallow frames

[gwt_uk]

Hello all,

Last year we captured a swarm and put it in a Nuc box. The only frames I had to hand were BS shallow frames. Haven’t opened them yet so. It sure what I will find! (only lifted the lid to add fondant.

When I do inspect and if they are strong enough to be put in a full size hive what are my options to get them on BS deeps?

I was thinking BB on top with frames. Hopefully the queen will move up the top box. Make sure she is in the top box then QE under the top box? Or try and work with a brood and half?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Hello all,

Last year we captured a swarm and put it in a Nuc box. The only frames I had to hand were BS shallow frames. Haven’t opened them yet so. It sure what I will find! (only lifted the lid to add fondant.

When I do inspect and if they are strong enough to be put in a full size hive what are my options to get them on BS deeps?

I was thinking BB on top with frames. Hopefully the queen will move up the top box. Make sure she is in the top box then QE under the top box? Or try and work with a brood and half?

neither,
It all depends when the swarm was caught and how strong it is as to what you'll find.
You might find that they've built down comb below the bottom bars on your shallows, maybe all the way down to near the floor, if so it's no big deal, by now they'll be pretty tough so no harm in using them until they need changing. Just take a bit more care when inspecting. In this scenario I would just transfer them all over to a brood box then fill the rest of the box with deep frames. You may be lucky that not all frames are filled with brood, in that case take out those frames and again replace with deep frames. I wouldn't contemplate doing a Bailey change until the colony was at full strength - to be honest I wouldn't contemplate a Bailey change full stop.
I would just live with these frames but in a deep box, Throughout the season just try and gradually move these frames to the edges of the box and remove them when the frames are empty, either this year or, in the spring next year when the brood cluster is small.

 

[Boston Bees]

Hello all,

Last year we captured a swarm and put it in a Nuc box. The only frames I had to hand were BS shallow frames. Haven’t opened them yet so. It sure what I will find! (only lifted the lid to add fondant.

When I do inspect and if they are strong enough to be put in a full size hive what are my options to get them on BS deeps?

I was thinking BB on top with frames. Hopefully the queen will move up the top box. Make sure she is in the top box then QE under the top box? Or try and work with a brood and half?

I think you may have some crazy cross-comb to deal with ..... but you might be OK.

Been there, got the t-shirt, sadly.

Apart from that, what JBM said.

 

[gwt_uk]

neither,
It all depends when the swarm was caught and how strong it is as to what you'll find.
You might find that they've built down comb below the bottom bars on your shallows, maybe all the way down to near the floor, if so it's no big deal, by now they'll be pretty tough so no harm in using them until they need changing. Just take a bit more care when inspecting. In this scenario I would just transfer them all over to a brood box then fill the rest of the box with deep frames. You may be lucky that not all frames are filled with brood, in that case take out those frames and again replace with deep frames. I wouldn't contemplate doing a Bailey change until the colony was at full strength - to be honest I wouldn't contemplate a Bailey change full stop.
I would just live with these frames but in a deep box, Throughout the season just try and gradually move these frames to the edges of the box and remove them when the frames are empty, either this year or, in the spring next year when the brood cluster is small.

Very helpful - thank you.

 

[Finman]

Let the colony fill the shallow box first and then put the deep box undet the brood. The colony ezoand the downwards like it does in nature.

 

[pargyle]

Let the colony fill the shallow box first and then put the deep box undet the brood. The colony ezoand the downwards like it does in nature.

It's not a shallow box... it was shallow frames in a brood box with a swarm in it last year so they will almost certainly have build free comb under the shallow frames. So .. what you are suggesting won't work in this instance. JBM has the right idea ....

 

[Finman]

It's not a shallow box... it was shallow frames in a brood box with a swarm in it last year so they will almost certainly have build free comb under the shallow frames. So .. what you are suggesting won't work in this instance. JBM has the right idea ....

What ever. Secrets of UK beekeepings. Shallow frames but not shallow box.

 

[pargyle]

What ever. Secrets of UK beekeepings. Shallow frames but not shallow box.

It's not a secret Finnie ... read the first post - he had a Nuc box when the swarm arrived last year but only had shallow frames - in an ideal world they would have been better with deep frames but at times we have to do what we have to do ... the question was what to expect when he opened it up and what to do about the fact that he had left them on shallow frames in a standard Nuc over winter. He got a great answer from JBM and then you added in a post that would not solve the OP's problem !

 

[Finman]

It's not a secret Finnie ... read the first post - he had a Nuc box when the swarm arrived last year but only had shallow frames -

I trust you when you read it. Problem solved.

 

[user 819]

Yet more amour.

 

[Finman]

So

 

[gwt_uk]

neither,
It all depends when the swarm was caught and how strong it is as to what you'll find.
You might find that they've built down comb below the bottom bars on your shallows, maybe all the way down to near the floor, if so it's no big deal, by now they'll be pretty tough so no harm in using them until they need changing. Just take a bit more care when inspecting. In this scenario I would just transfer them all over to a brood box then fill the rest of the box with deep frames. You may be lucky that not all frames are filled with brood, in that case take out those frames and again replace with deep frames. I wouldn't contemplate doing a Bailey change until the colony was at full strength - to be honest I wouldn't contemplate a Bailey change full stop.
I would just live with these frames but in a deep box, Throughout the season just try and gradually move these frames to the edges of the box and remove them when the frames are empty, either this year or, in the spring next year when the brood cluster is small.

Thanks again for the advice. Moved them into a new home today. They had built comb below the shallows frames but it was easy enough to take the frames out and I managed to keep it all intact. Full of brood and stores.