Question: What happens if someone else is picking my NUC up, but they are unwilling to install it?
Question: What happens if I have to have someone else pick my NUC up, but they are unwilling to install it?
Answer: If you must leave the bees in the NUC for any length of time, you will need to OPEN the little door on the front of the NUC. This will allow the bees to come and go from the NUC. This will help them try to keep their nuc cool and will allow them to forage for food and water. Bees have a very good GPS, so you have to be careful when moving them. A couple things to keep in mind if you are going to do this.
If you are going to set your nuc under a shade tree and this is not where your hive is going to be go to step 2
If you can set your nuc on top of your hive, where your hive is going to stay (make sure they are shaded) then jump to step 3
Step 2: You will need to wait until the bees are back from foraging, so block them in the nuc the hive after dark, take the nuc and install your bees into their new hive, BUT leave them locked in their new hive for 2-3 days (block off the entrance well). Make sure you have the screen bottom and screen inner cover on if you are going to do this. The hive will also get hot with all those buzzing bees, so they need air flow. Wouldn't hurt to put sugar water and a pollen patty in either. You need to lock them in for 2 or 3 days in order to allow them to forget where the nuc was under the shade tree (the longer the better). If you don't allow the 2-3 days locked in their new hive to forget about the old location, most of them will fly back to where you had the nuc setting and die there.
Step 3: You MUST place your nuc on top of your hive BEFORE you open it. Once the bees start to come and go from the NUC, they will set their GPS to that location, if you move the hive or nuc after they have set this GPS, they will return to the spot where you first opened the nuc. Set the nuc on top of the hive, then open it to ensure they set their GPS in the nuc to the same spot as your hive. You will have to keep the hive/nuc in the shade somehow too. Even though it may not be that warm outside, the plastic of the nuc combined with the heat of all those bees really increases the heat on the inside. Too much heat and bees start to die.
REMEMBER:don't leave them in the nuc, with the door open, for very long. They will probably already be at maximum capacity, so you run the risk of a swarm very soon.
This isn't the best option, but if it's your only option, then give it a try. REMEMBER: If you have any questions or want talk about this process more, call us, we would be happy to go over it more with you and talk about your options.
