Continuing our adventure from the last post, once the swarm had occupied the nuc on the tarp we left them undisturbed while we prepared a quart of sugar syrup in a Boardman feeder. When it was at last sundown we suited up and went to work.

We began by stuffing the entrance with a wad of tall grass to pre-empt any emerging protesters of our handling. Then we gently slid a loop of wide Velcro® strap under the bottom board and over the telescoping cover to hold all the nuc components together. After tightening the strap we carried the nuc as smoothly as we could manage on the uneven ground to behind the barn onto a stand improvised from parts of a plastic shelving unit.

Once the nuc was in place and the strap removed, we lifted the telescoping cover. The bees had been so quiet during the move that we began to wonder if they had not already departed but they were still within, peeking at us through the hole in the inner cover. We placed the feeder on the inner cover near but not blocking the hole, added a second nuc body to enclose it, and restored the telescoping cover with a pair of the traditional bricks to hold it down. So wee Angharad, as we have named her, is now a two-story with frames below and feeder above. Our last act was to pull away the grass plug so it would no longer confine the bees but still be a slight obstacle to encourage them to orient on their new location.

Now, except for supplying sugar syrup as needed, we must leave wee Angharad in peace for a week or two as her bees settle in, building comb and starting to raise brood. As full of bees as she is, we may soon have to add frames to her second story so they can continue to build comb. And eventually we should build her a better stand.

The next morning there were still a few die-hards at the apple tree and wee Angharad seemed quiescent while our three hives already had traffic. But in another hour or so our little nuc was just as busy as the rest and by mid-afternoon we felt confident in removing the grass plug entirely.