BBKA Forum

Hi everyone,

I recently transferred a nuc gifted to me, 6 full frames, into my Abelo poly national.
My setup from the bottom is:
- wooden hive stand
- Abelo poly floor with tray slid in place and entrance slid right open
- Abelo poly brood box with vent inserts in (rather than poly blocks)
- Abelo poly crown board
- Abelo poly roof

So my questions are:
1. Do I need the tray under the mesh in position?
2. Are the two vent blocks in the brood box better option than poly blocks?
3. My entrance is not on the 'toothed' way round. It's open to about 60mm wide
4. Any hints and tips to help them grow?

I'm not feeding at the moment.

Leave tray in. Then you won't lose it

I wouldn't put the vents in , I would use the poly inserts. It can still be nippy on a night

60mm entrance is fine. Toothed as a mouse excluder later in the year

Tips
Treat for varroa
Feed if no flow on
Make sure you've got more boxes ready with frames
Keep your nuc handy in case they decided to swarm and you can harvest a queen cells

Ah thanks for that Chris - especially regarding the vents/poly inserts. The vents are currently in. When is best to switch out? Mid day when it's not so busy?

depends how long theyve been in , they can be a swine to get out. midday sounds good to me. but to be honest, any time as long as the temp isnt to cool. suit up and crack on.

Cheers Chris,

As soon as I posted my last message I decided to just go for it. Had no bother off the bees - probably because they haven't built up to the sides yet. It will still be foundation.

sterling job, glad it went well.

Another Q - can the bees get too hot?
So if I have all 5 poly discs in place on the crown board, both brood box wall poly inserts in place, AND the tray in place under the mesh - will they be OK?

I believe not.

If they are too warm they will beard on the front of the box

However others have commented that last year during the heat wave their poly hives made much more noise as the bees inside appeared to he fanning more to keep it cooler inside. So during hot weather it might be beneficial to remove the poly blocks and the floor insert. Your call.

Cheers Chris, I'll cover the CB vent as well and see how they react.

Take the tray out. This time of year it's not needed, except for counting varroa drops...
Stick blocks in...if we get a summer like last year take them out....but you need to let your colony build a little,,,,
Remove all of the entrance stuff...it becomes more useful later in the year.