Q: What should I do when I bring home my nuc?
A: Gently remove one frame at a time and place them in the center of your 10 or 8 frame box. Place the remaining frames of foundation on the outside of the five frames that you purchased from us. We recommend not waiting to transfer your nuc to your new hive kit but doing it as soon as you get home. If you can’t transfer the nuc to a larger box right away that is perfectly fine just remember to set the nuc in the same place that you want your hive to be and open the small front entrance of the nuc.
Q: Do I need to register my new hive?
A: Yes. It is Florida law that all new beekeepers be registered with the state of Florida. You can request an inspection from your local state beekeeper by going to: Beekeeper Registration / Bees/Apiary / Agriculture Industry / Home – Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (fdacs.gov)
Q: What medications do you recommend for varroa mites for beginners?
A: We suggest treating for varroa mites 4 times per year, typically once every three months. You will need to perform an alcohol wash before and after every treatment for accurate results. We recommend using Apivar strips twice a year in combination with using vaporized oxalic acid twice a year. You will need to purchase an oxalic acid vaporizer. There are cheap wands if you only have a few hives or more expensive versions if you run more colonies. Make sure to buy a respirator that filters organic acid vapor!!! Be very cautious of using Apiguard or Formic Acid if you are a beginner. These medications are very temperature sensitive and will kill your hive if not applied properly.
Q: Should I feed my hives?
A: We feed our hives around 6 gallons of corn syrup more or less every year. Once you pull your honey in the summer (probably July) you need to replace that food source with cane sugar water or corn syrup. Either is fine and a 1:1 mix or a 2(sugar):1(water) mix is most common. Depending on your individual location and how much honey you take from your hives will determine how much you need to feed them. A good rule of thumb is to keep one full deep box or two full medium boxes of honey on your hives at all times.
Q: Where can I get more information or how do I find a beekeeping mentor?
A: If you’re new to beekeeping we strongly recommend joining a local beekeeping club. There are clubs in Chipley (Central Panhandle Beekeepers Association), Marianna (Chipola Beekeepers), and Panama City (Tupelo Beekeepers Association) to name only a few. Each club has mentors that will be available to help you and may even come and work your hive with you at your home.
Q: Should I put my hives in full sun or shade?
A: Because small hive beetles are so destructive in our area, we recommend putting your hives in full sun with as little to no shade as possible. You will have fewer small hive beetle and fungal issues, less equipment rot, and more productive hives. The bees are very efficient at cooling their hives but if you want to help them with the heat paint your lids and boxes a light color such as white.
Q: How do I make a split (new hive)?
A: We like to take three frames of mixed brood (eggs, larvae, and capped brood) and two frames of honey to make a new split. Make sure all the frames are covered with bees but not the queen! Put one frame of honey on each side of the brood frames so the brood is insulated by the honey. You can let the new hive make their own queen (takes about 30 days), buy a queen cell from us (takes about 14 days), or buy a mated queen from us (instant queen).
