Hi All! Our 5 frame Nucs are finally ready for pick up and I wanted to see if you had suggestions for me. We have to drive approx. 1.5 hours home with the bees. When we get back to the house, should we install right away or (and this is my instinct - right or wrong, I'm sure you'll tell me!) should we wait an hour or two, giving them a quiet, cool place to rest and settle down prior to the install?
It's not going to matter much. Most of the bees are going to be too busy tending to the brood. Unless the ride was so bumpy that the nucs went airborne, they'll be fine.
I picked up a couple nucs last year. I had to bring my own box, so there was 5 empty frames in the box with them. In the 3 1/2 hours it took to drive home, they started drawing out comb on the empties.
Thanks for the reply! Drawing comb during transport? That's pretty great! The bees never cease to amaze me! Looking forward to watching them in the garden - it's been a long time!