Installations and Orientations

Apr 19, 2025

2 min read

eBee Apiary installed its first-ever nuc on April 19, 2025. A "nuc" is short for nucleus colony. The nuc was purchased from New England Apiaries in Southwick, MA. The nuc contained Italian bees with five drawn-out frames filled with a queen, worker bees, brood (baby bees), honey, and pollen. The sun was out, and it was possibly the warmest day of the year so far—the perfect day to kick off bee season!

General Nuc Installation Takeaways:

New frames with a black plastic foundation can potentially benefit from a bit of beeswax.
Nuc installation can easily be successful with a smoker, hive tool, and—of course, a bit of confidence (one also cannot forget the all-important veil and jacket).
To install the nuc, the frames must be put into their new hive in the same order they arrived in the nuc box.
A bee's gotta eat—a beehive feeder frame filled with sugar water (some use a gallon-sized zip-lock bag sliced open) is another essential part of installing a nuc.

Interesting Observations from the Installation:

The queen was alive and well and most importantly—laying eggs!
There were capped brood and larvae (good sign).
The all-important photog (also known as my husband, Zach) can run really fast when being chased by a bee!

But seemingly the best part of the observation was witnessing that after some time following the installation—the bees begin to take orientation flights.

Orientation Flights

An orientation flight is when foraging members of the colony (females) make what looks like arching patterns around the hive. This essential first flight helps the bees memorize landmarks around their new home so they can return with their goodies (pollen, etc.).

I'm taking it as a sign that they are happy with their new hive. It is simply fascinating (and adorable) to watch!

Welcome home, bees.

Special shout out to my brother-in-law, Doug, who chauffeured the bees to their new home. Fun fact: his fiancée Chloe gave me the socks I wore today for Christmas last year. I wore them so the bees don't crawl up my pant leg. Surely there is a better and more fashionable way to protect my legs from any accidental stings, but as I mentioned before—I am a newbee!

Beginner Beekeeper Links:

These are links to items, virtual storefronts, or other resources that I found helpful.