Do you think it would be advantageous to wait on checkerboarding until some of those brood frames start hatching out and the nuc is a bit stronger? Which will give them a larger number to defend the empty spaces against pest?
You could even just checkerboard in 1 single frame to get them started on drawing out the frames. That is the key, bc if they don’t HAVE to draw them and get their wax glands started then they won’t. Bees are productive but also lazy
I would not be comfortable putting two open frames between brood, especially from a 5 frame nuc. That’s too much stress for a small hive. Bees are not lazy. They are highly adapted to draw out frames when it’s optimal timing for them, not for the beekeeper.
I would be worried about chilled brood with the brood nest so split apart. The temperature this morning was in the low forties where I live. Would it be better to leave the brood nest intact in the beginning and rotate the undrawn comb in as the brood nest expands?
Got my first nuc this year. When I got them home, I forgot all about my hat and smoke. I just opened the top and was immediately punished. I ran inside and put my gear on, gave them smoke and they chilled out. It was kinda funny.
Always try to catch a swarm here ... Haven't got 250 pounds to buy a nucleus 😂 ... Besides they always have shit queens and never last the winter ... Go for the native species every time ... Or in your case in the US the locally adapted bees
