The (not so) big move!

So I have this poor nuc, which can't catch a break. I put a jar of sugar syrup on it last week, and my Brown hive robbed the heck out of that nuc! I know that excessive robbing can disturb the (robbed) hive so much it can abscond or the queen could even get killed. I decided to close off the nuc for a day or so to let things calm down, but when I opened it back up, the robbing continued.

I asked the guru's of Beesource for their advice, and one guy suggested relocating the nuc somewhere away from my strong hive for a while, until it grew strong enough to defend itself. I thought that was a great idea!

Now, where to put the nuc? I couldn't put it at Sutton with the other 2 hives I manage, since it would probably get robbed by those hives just the same. We knew a member of the church who lived about a mile away, but they just moved. It would have been a perfect place! I couldn't think of anywhere relatively close, so I asked my wife (who is tied in more with local friends) if she knew someone who wouldn't mind hosting my nuc on their property for a few weeks.

She thought for a while, and then she remembered a friend (who happened to be a former teacher of my youngest son) who lived about 1 1/2 miles away. She contacted her, and this friend said she'd have no problem hosting the nuc. Great!

I took off the (now empty) syrup jar and the upper hive body surrounding it, and put on the regular cover. Then I bungee corded the lid, in preparation for the trip. Here's the nuc ready for travel!

But before I buttoned it up, I decided to check it out. I found the queen, but no new eggs or larvae. Just capped cells from the frame I brought over a week or so ago. Here's the queen:

I suspect that the queen hadn't started laying due to all of the problems this nuc had - the robbing, and the corresponding lack of resources (since it was robbed out).

Here's the nuc in the back of my wife's van ready for the short ride to the new location:

Notice I put the nuc in so that the frames are in line with the direction of travel. This minimizes the sloshing of the frames, which could damage the queen.

We got to the new location and picked a good out-of-the-way location for the nuc. Take a look at this satellite view of the property - I added a red arrow where we stuck the nuc - right along a tree line, out of the way:

I set the nuc back up, and put on a jar of sugar syrup. I also put a bowl of water (with wood pieces floating in it) in case the bees need something to drink.

Here's hoping the nuc can prosper in this calm area and get nice and strong!! I'll check back in a couple of weeks or so.