Your colony starts with a clean slate
Every colony in a Primal Bee hive starts the same way: fresh.
No old comb. No inherited pathogens. No residue from years of chemical treatments accumulating in wax.
As co-founder Alex Gamberoni puts it: "The colony comes first, and the beekeeper comes second. That means the beekeeper has to commit to changing a bit of their way of working in a way that saves the hardware and benefits the bees."
Whether you're transferring an existing colony from a Langstroth or installing a new bee package, the process follows the same logic. Shake the bees in, let them build from scratch, and configure the nest to match colony strength.
The bees build everything new - and because of the hive's thermal efficiency, they build it faster than you'd expect.
Path 1: Starting from a bee package
- Prepare the hive. Insert the Varroa tray, attach entrance plugs with holes facing outward, and set up your frames with foundation. Place three frames on one side, the follower board right next to them, and one frame on the opposite wall - creating a central gap for the bees.
- Shake the bees in. Open the package and pour the bees directly into the central gap. Any bees that don't make it in will find their way.
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Introduce the queen. Place the queen cage on top of the frames or between the top bars. If you're using a sealed container, don't leave her in too long — it can put her at risk. Check after 2–3 days to confirm the bees released her. If not, release her manually. An edible cage is also a good option here — it raises the chances the bees stay put rather than looking for a new home.
- Configure for a weak colony. Start with 4 Primal Bee frames + 3 follower boards. This concentrates the colony's heat and energy into a manageable space while they build out.
- Feed. Close the nest and feed through the top hole. Use concentrated syrup - 80% sugar, 20% water. Not the standard American 1:1 ratio (more on why below).
Path 2: Transferring an existing colony
- Prepare the Primal Bee hive. Insert the Varroa tray, attach entrance plugs with holes facing outward, and set up your frames with foundation. Place 3 frames with foundations on one side with the follower board right next to them, and one frame with foundation on the opposite wall — creating a central gap for the bees.
- Find and cage the queen from your old hive. Set her aside. If you're using a sealed container make sure to not leave her in for too long, it might put her at risk.
- Shake the bees off the old brood frames directly into the Primal Bee nest. Do not transfer old frames. Any bees that remain on the old frames can be brushed in gently with a soft brush.
- Release the queen immediately into the new nest. An edible cage works well here too — it raises the chances the bees stay put rather than looking for a new home.
- Configure for colony strength. Strong colony: 8 frames, no follower boards. Weak colony: 4 frames + 3 follower boards. Adjust the ratio as the colony grows.
- Feed and close up. Close the nest and feed through the top hole. Use concentrated syrup — 80% sugar, 20% water. Not the standard American 1:1 ratio (more on why below).
- Return to inspect after a few days to confirm the queen is present and released, and check the food situation.
What to do with the old brood frames: You have three options:
- Transfer them to another standard hive colony.
- Distance the old hive and wait 15 days for remaining larvae to emerge, then shake the newborns into the Primal Bee hive.
- Or, if there's risk of high Varroa or disease contamination, abandon the frames entirely.
→ Full step-by-step: Transferring from Langstroth → PB
Why everything gets built from scratch
Old comb is a liability. Years of brood cycles leave behind cocoon residues, accumulated pesticide traces, and pathogen reservoirs that no amount of cleaning fully removes.
In a Primal Bee hive, colonies can redirect energy from temperature regulation into wax production because of the thermal efficiency. What would take weeks of comb-drawing in a standard wooden hive happens dramatically faster when the bees aren't burning calories fighting their housing.
Five first-season mistakes that cause colony failure
The most common first-season mistakes with a Primal Bee hive have nothing to do with the hive. They're a handful of avoidable beekeeping errors that our team sees again and again across Europe and the US.
1. Varroa mismanagement
This is the big one. Alex Gamberoni, cofounder and CTO, calls it "99% of the time the reason why they lose their colony."
The pattern plays out the same way every time. The hive's thermal efficiency produces such strong early results that beekeepers relax. The colony looks incredible - nest built out in days, bees everywhere, supers going on. "They will be amazed by the initial performance," Alex says. "And then you think that everything is fine. Which is not. Because from early spring to the beginning of summer is when Varroa start growing like crazy."
By the time symptoms appear, the infestation started months ago.
The fix: test mite levels regularly and treat after the last major nectar flow. Check the Varroa tray every three weeks during winter. If you find 5–12 mites on the tray, start treatment immediately. 13 or more means your previous treatment likely wasn't effective.
2. Starting with already-infested bees
Alex describes watching experienced beekeepers receive bee packages so infested that "the Varroa level was never going down. They received probably the most infested colony I've ever seen." Three out of four colonies were lost despite expert-level care.
Source bees from reputable suppliers. Ask about their Varroa management. If you're buying a nucleus colony, request mite count data.
3. Wrong syrup concentration
The standard American recommendation of 1:1 sugar-to-water syrup is too dilute. Alex is blunt about it: "We are really feeding water. And water is a problem because they don't need all that water. They need sugar." Honey is only 15–17% moisture. So when you feed that dilute, you're asking the bees to spend energy drying what they don't need in order to use what they need. All while trying to build a nest from scratch.
The added problem: excess moisture creates conditions for Nosema, a gut disease that's difficult to detect until it's already weakened the colony.
Feed 80% sugar / 20% water (4:1 ratio by weight). If treating for Nosema, you can go to 60/40 to help bees distribute the medication.
4. Wrong hive configuration
Basic configuration errors - using the wrong super type, skipping the follower board, incorrect entrance plug orientation - compromise the thermal seal that makes the system work.
Follow the site preparation and hive placement guide exactly. Use Primal Bee supers - they are compatible with standard medium and deep Langstroth and medium Dadant frames for honey extraction. Start with the correct number of frames for your colony strength and add supers only when the colony is ready.
5. Over-inspecting
The impulse to check on a new colony is understandable. Every time you open the hive, though, you disrupt the thermal environment the bees are working to maintain.
Check entrance activity, observe flight patterns, look at the Varroa tray. If you must open the hive, do it above 18°C (64°F) when recovery conditions are optimal. Between 5–18°C (41–64°F), stick to a quick look through the feeding hole. Below 5°C (41°F), external observation only. We covered the research on why inspections are so costly in this post.
The time-lag problem
Here's the concept that trips up even experienced beekeepers. Gianmario Riganti explains: "When you look today at a colony - doesn't matter if you're looking at a very good colony or a bad colony - you are looking at the past. With your eyes, you're looking at the operations the beekeeper was managing three months ago. Or five months, depending on location."
This is why strong-looking colonies collapse. The Varroa damage you see in October started in June. The weak spring buildup traces back to a feeding failure in December.
Gianmario's point is about operational awareness. The beekeeper who succeeds is the one who acts on what's coming, not on what's visible. Test mite levels before there are symptoms. Feed before the colony shows signs of starvation. Treat before you see deformed wings.
A beginner's story: the Swiss ambassador's first hive
Simon Geissbühler, the Swiss ambassador to Israel, installed his first Primal Bee hive at the embassy residence in August 2025. No prior beekeeping experience.
His connection to Primal Bee came through the Swiss embassy's innovation team, which had helped facilitate the startup's early development. "I very shyly asked if it was possible to have a hive in the garden of the residence," Simon says. "I was not really an expert... I didn't know if you can keep bees in the middle of the city."
With mentoring from Tomer Moldovan, Primal Bee's co-founder and CEO, Simon's colony thrived. His commitment - something Alex emphasizes as critical for first-season success - was high from the start. "It's a little too much to say that they are my babies," Simon says, "but still, I take responsibility for them and I take it very seriously."
His advice lines up with what the team sees across all successful first-year beekeepers. Commit fully. Follow the guidance. Resist the urge to assume everything is fine just because the colony looks strong.
→ And for more helpful tips on using Primal Bee hives - check out our full set of usage guides
