After You Get Home

First Priorities

Once you arrive home, the goal is to get the bees placed in their permanent location and allow them to cool, ventilate, and orient themselves as soon as possible. Transport is stressful, especially during warm weather, so restoring airflow is the priority.

Place the hive or nuc in its final location before opening anything.
Keep the hive shaded if possible, especially during warm or sunny conditions.
Avoid unnecessary movement or repositioning once set in place.

Opening the Entrance

The bees are ready to get out as soon as the hive or nuc is placed in its permanent location.

Open the entrance as soon as the hive or nuc is set down.
Stand to the side or behind the hive when opening.
Allow the bees to ventilate and fly as needed.

You may see bees flying in short looping patterns in front of the hive. These are orientation flights and are normal.

Feeding After You Get Home

Yes, feeding is recommended after you get the bees home.

Provide 1 to 1.5 gallons of 1:1 sugar syrup to get them started.
We like to check the feeders weekly (not daily) and continue feeding as needed. If the feeder is empty in a week, we add more syrup.
When we "PUSH THEM" they grow and expand rapidly. By that we mean, feeding as needed, when nature is not providing much, like during a dearth/drought conditions.

The initial feedings help prevent the bees from consuming all the reserve food stores in the combs. The 5 Frame Nucs we provide, sold individually or installed in hives, come with roughly 2 frames of food and 3 frames of brood - all covered bees. That's around five thousand plus mouths to feed. T

Honey bees, like us, need to eat daily to maintain strength and raise healthy young. Providing syrup supports the colony while they locate local resources in their new location.

Nucs & Full Hives: What Happens Next

Nucs and full hives behave differently after transport, so what happens next depends on what you purchased.

With Nucs, we install them into their permanent hive bodies the same day they arrive at their new location.
The ProNuc transport tote is designed for moving bees, not long-term housing, so it is a temporary box only.
We make our Nucs on the “fat” side, with plenty of brood and food, which means they can outgrow the 5 frame transport tote quickly, so we get them into full size hives right away, so they do not get the urge to swarm.
There is no required waiting period before working with a colony. Allowing the bees to settle briefly after transport and then transferring them into full-size equipment is how we normally handle them.

The complete Hive Sets we offer come with a 5 Frame Nuc already installed, so once they are placed in their permanent location, they can be opened and allowed to fly. Aside from filling the feeder, there is usually nothing else that needs to be done right away.

What We Avoid Doing on Day One

After transport and placement, the first day is about letting the bees settle, ventilate, and orient to their new location.

We do not pull frames or inspect the brood area on the first day.
We do not continue moving or repositioning the hive once it has been placed.
We do not block ventilation openings or restrict airflow after arrival.

In our experience, most issues that show up after pickup are the result of disturbing the bees too soon rather than letting them stabilize.

What Is Normal After You Get Home

After transport, it is normal to see increased activity around the hive or nuc once the entrance is opened.

Bees flying in small circles in front of the hive are taking orientation flights.
Some bees may remain on the outside of the hive or near the entrance for a short time.
Noise and movement will usually settle down once ventilation and normal traffic resume.

This is all part of the bees learning their new location and getting back to normal behavior after being moved.