Poly Nuc moving cock up

[Poly Hive]

Just a heads up on moving poly nucs. Some three weeks ago I moved four Maisemore 6 frame National nucs to another site due to them getting strong. Yesterday I checked them to see if they were ready for a 2nd BB. They were not as strong as I had expected and I was taken aback to find two with no laying queen. On looking further there were many hundreds of dead bees on the mesh floor. So... whilst not totally brewed they were certainly partly suffocated despite the whole of the floor being mesh. I am going to make up some travelling screens for when I move them next as obviously the bottom ventilation is not enough.

PH

 

[BMH]

Just a heads up on moving poly nucs. Some three weeks ago I moved four Maisemore 6 frame National nucs to another site due to them getting strong. Yesterday I checked them to see if they were ready for a 2nd BB. They were not as strong as I had expected and I was taken aback to find two with no laying queen. On looking further there were many hundreds of dead bees on the mesh floor. So... whilst not totally brewed they were certainly partly suffocated despite the whole of the floor being mesh. I am going to make up some travelling screens for when I move them next as obviously the bottom ventilation is not enough.



PH

That's strange.

I move my maisies nucs around all the time without screens and they are fine. Sometimes in 20c plus weather.

Could it have been anything else?

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

 

[Poly Hive]

No as none of the other units on the same site are showing any signs. They were pretty strong, sadly were....


PH

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I move my maisies nucs around all the time without screens and they are fine. Sometimes in 20c plus weather.

:Iagree:

They often sit in the back of the truck overnight as well, between being transferred from one site to another. Often, I will leave them shut in for 24 hours at an apiary when making up nucs.
The four feet raising them off the floor ensures there's plenty of air circulation underneath

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Some three weeks ago I moved four Maisemore 6 frame National nucs to another site ......... Yesterday I checked them to see if they were ready for a 2nd BB. They were not as strong as I had expected and I was taken aback to find two with no laying queen. On looking further there were many hundreds of dead bees on the mesh floor.

PH

So you shut them in three weeks ago for, I assume a few hours, maybe overnight, find dead bees yesterday and made the quantum leap that an almost full floor OMF wassn't sufficient for their transportation

 

[Hivemaker.]

I am going to make up some travelling screens for when I move them next as obviously the bottom ventilation is not enough.

No, it's not enough for very strong nucs, both Maisimore and Paynes also sell poly traveling screens specially made for the nuc boxes they supply, use quite a lot of them.

 

[Ian123]

Poly did nucs sit directly on floor I would ensure when moving mine they sat in some battens or an up turned roof to create an air flow/gap. Just a thought

 

[bingevader]

If this is from a move 3 weeks ago.
Then I'd also suggest that something else maybe going on.
Were they too many for the nuc?
Could it be CBPV?
One of the swarms I caught this year has sputtered some what with the odd drunken bee on the ground some way in front.
It's on a different site from our hives and was a huge swarm, but it's a bit of a wait and see situation with that one.

 

[Beefriendly]

It would help if PH let us know what type of vehicle he used to move them in. Inside the back of an estate car? Back of an open/closed pick up? Placed on floor or on batons.
Distance moved, weather on day of move. All have an effect ....so difficult from brief description to know where any problem might lie.

 

[Ian123]

Don’t be daft we’ve all cocked up before

 

[Beefriendly]

Don’t be daft we’ve all cocked up before

Oh yes and we will do so again...but usually we know what caused the cock up....

 

[bontbee]

I also had concerns about the ventilation in Maisies poly nucs. I do raise them off the car seat, to try to get some air movement, but I did cobble together some screens with a bit of batten and some floor mesh. They were nearly bee proof

 

[Curly green fingers]

Talking about maisemore nucs if you have a feeder on top could you not replace the perspex that's used for viewing with mesh and then use some wedges of wood say Matchsticks to have a vent gap in the roof. Strap it all together.
I use bits of oak to stand the nucs on for ventilation
Underneath.

 

[Poly Hive]

The whole story is this.

They were strong, actually stronger than I realised having been away.

They were moved some 700m, but due to the short distance, I left them shut in for 24 hours. My older nucs have battens screwed to the bottom but these don't due to their construction. So sitting on longish grass wouldn't have helped.

I have now made travelling screens up so end of issue.

I posted up so that others may avoid the same problem.

PH

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

But what you posted initially is now a different 'story' to what we are now being told.

 

[Poly Hive]

Yes but I think the damage was done during the actual move, actually I don't think it I am pretty damn sure, not after that so not really that much different.

Out of curiosity have you ever brewed a colony JBS? If you have you will know it happens very fast. On the bright side none of mine are anywhere near dead.


PH

 

[Curly green fingers]

Yes but I think the damage was done during the actual move, actually I don't think it I am pretty damn sure, not after that so not really that much different.

Out of curiosity have you ever brewed a colony JBS? If you have you will know it happens very fast. On the bright side none of mine are anywhere near dead.


PH

When you say brewed - over heated?
I went to pick a swarm up two days after it had been caught , it had no ventilation half the bee's were dead and the rest were barely moving .

Surfice to say they are fine after a bit of c.g.f love or

 

[SDM]

I've had the same happen with over strong/crowded poly nuc and hives. Even complete comb collapse without moving them . Nucs get hives before moving, strong hives( like to heather) get screens as well as mesh floors.

 

[eltalia]

Yes but I think the damage was done during the actual move, actually I don't think it I am pretty
damn sure, not after that so not really that much different.

Out of curiosity have you ever brewed a colony JBS? If you have you will know it happens very fast. On the
bright side none of mine are anywhere near dead.


PH

ALL of the story (now) does not support causal analytics mentioned so far.
There is something else at play here - what (?) I myself have NFI, so far.
Time will tell.
Locked down colonys dead from being "brewed" are very distinctive, no
mistaking their Wet Look.. and not a few, a dozen, or a few hundred - it is
100% kill with maybe an odd one here or there 'squirming' if you get
there in minutes. They are usually bunched also, like not in a single layer.

Bill