Since taking over, the new queen has laid eggs in almost all the available cells on all 5 frames in the nucleus. And she has plenty of worker bees, gathering nectar and pollen to feed the new brood. In short, it's busy in there, and they need more space for the growing family. The solution? Add another nucleus! I already have a second nucleus box, with some spare frames in it - and the nuc with the bees inside has a detachable floor, making it fairly easy to stack them. The only problem - my second nuc (the "blue nuc") is about 3/4 of an inch wider than the nuc currently housing the colony (the "brown nuc"). So, I need an adapter...
Fortunately, I have been keeping an old drawer hanging around in anticipation that I'd need to do this - the hardboard base of the drawer will be perfect. I measured up a template, for what is basically a hollow rectangle with a 1.5" border. Then, I started cutting:
Amazingly, I actually managed to finish the job without cutting myself open (really, this is a surprise - I am genuinely the world's worst carpenter).
Next, I wrapped the frame in gaffer tape (gaffa tape? duct tape...?) to give it a bit a waterproofing (it doesn't need to be perfectly waterproof, just give a bit of protection):
Once finished, the rest was easy. I moved the brown nuc to one side, put the blue nuc in its place, and put the new adapter on top of the blue nuc. Finally, I lifted the brown nuc, without its floor, onto the top, with the adapter sitting between the two nuc boxes. Roof on, and we now have a luxury(!), double-height home for the colony:
I think the bees are enjoying their new, extended home!
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