New bees in PEI

May 21. 2016



Happy Victoria Day long weekend!  I have received my first nuc here on Prince Edward Island!  Ironically, they had to come all the way from Ontario.  I am hoping to get another nuc from the beekeeper who imported the nucs from Ontario after PEI's blueberries are pollinated . There is a very large blueberry industry in PEI and the need for pollination is high.  Bees are brought in from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec for the short pollination season in June. (note: the blossoms of blueberries are not very high in nutrition for the bees so it's not a great diet for them).

You may remember that I had decided to work with shallow hive boxes and with no foundation so my challenge with the nuc that I have bought is that it is a deep with foundation filled frames.  I will need to switch the large frames for my medium frames over the next few months.  Fortunately, I have a very creative carpenter as a husband, Bill!  He has added wood to my shallow frames to make them seem like deeps and he has given the box a lip to add the needed extra room for the frames in the nuc.

As the bees build up I will keep moving the nuc deep frames to the outside until they are empty and I can remove them and then I will remove the wood pieces from the hybrid frames and move them into a shallow box. Sounds easy, right?  Wish me luck.

It is fantastic to have bees again!

Brand new nuc in PEI...bred in Ontario

Giving the bees their new home.

Foundationless frame with wired on wood to deep size