Been on a nuc and swarm trap building binge. Now for some paint.
Nuc and Swarm Trap Building
04 Sunday Jan 2026
Posted in swarms
Tag Archives: nucleus hives
Sustainable Beekeeping thru Nucleus Colonies
01 Monday Mar 2021
Posted in beekeeping, beekeeping management, beekeeping seasons, education, management, seasons
Coming Soon, Spring Splits!
11 Friday Dec 2020
Posted in beekeeping, beekeeping management, management
Picture from Coweta Sustainable Beekeeping article.
I have raised 5 frame nucleus hives since 2016 from Spring splits and allowed them to grow out to double boxes (ten frames). Last year, and this coming, I’ll graft queens and be using the Coweta mindset and method (below) to make increase or to sustainably maintain a hive after the sale of a nucleus hive or queen. I always retain 5 frames with at least one frame of young larvae and notch the cells to raise a new queen as detailed in the following article.
Source: Coweta Sustainable Beekeeping Method by Steven Page
Coweta Sustainable Beekeeping
Click here to download a pdf file of this article.
Most beekeepers are not sustainable; they purchase nucs or packages each spring to replace winter losses. This is expensive and prevents the creation of local, sustainable honey bee genetics. The true cost of a package or nuc can escalate when some die during the winter before producing any honey. If only half of these young colonies survive until next spring the cost per a nuc or package doubles.
A beekeeper with only a few hives may experience the disheartening loss of all their colonies. No honey will be harvested for a year and they must start over purchasing nucs or packages if they can find them.
The current or traditional methods that the beekeeping books teach do not account for the difficulties we experience. A book may teach Varroa mite control but not how to thrive in spite of Varroa. Most are teaching beekeeping from a time before the combined effects of:
· Varroa Mites
· Numerous diseases
· Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)
· Small hive beetle
· Short lived queens
· High pesticide use
There has to be a better way.
If you have bees you can make more bees or more accurately, colonies can be used to make more colonies. All beekeepers have the resources in their colonies to become sustainable.
In the south, winter losses average one-third. During the summer make enough splits to begin winter with one and a half times the number of colonies required for honey production in the spring. If six colonies are required for spring honey production, begin winter with ten. For example, begin the winter with six production hives and four nucs. After losing two production hives and two nucs during the winter, a 40 percent loss, the two remaining nucs are used to replace the dead colonies restoring production hives to six. There is no need to buy colonies because of winter losses. In May, splits can be started to replace the nucs bringing the total number of colonies up to ten again.
Overwinter Nucs
“Almost every emergency of management can be met by putting something into or taking something out of a nucleus, while nuclei themselves seldom present emergencies.” E. B. Wedmore, A Manual of Beekeeping
Continued…
To read the complete article visit: Coweta Sustainable Beekeeping Method
Overwintering Nuclei Colonies by Larry Connor
07 Monday Dec 2020
Posted in beekeeping, beekeeping seasons, seasons
Some northern beekeepers have success overwintering nuclei-sized colonies. This may be based on a particular stock or genetic trait, and should be tested carefully. More beekeepers are able to overwinter a single, deep hive body by packing the hive out with honey or sugar syrup in the Fall. In addition to food reserves, make sure such colonies are protected from the harsh winds of Winter.
Read the complete article here: Overwintering Nuclei Colonies — BEEKeeping: Your First Three Years
Installing Your New Bees by Prime Bees – College Station Bee & Honey Farm
11 Monday Feb 2019
Posted in beekeeping, beekeeping management, management
We’ve got short instructions on installing your Package Bees or Nucleus Colony below – feel free to reach out with questions or clarification!
Package bees are just boxes specially built to carry bees securely and safely. They are sold according to the weight of the bees with maybe 4000 to 5000 per pound. They mostly have the queen bee not unless the buyer has instructed otherwise. They are relatively cheaper compared to nucleus colony.
To install the package bees, you will need to remove the center frames of the colony you’re moving the bees into. Remove the cage containing the queen bee first, then place the container on its side over the place you have removed the frames. Put the queen’s cage on top of a frame and gently turn the package inside out to assist the bees to fall into the hive. Prepare two frames where you shall place the queen cage and use pressure to hold it in place if you have existing comb – otherwise you can tie the cage with string or tape to secure her – you don’t want her to fall to the bottom of the hive. Once all the bees are out of the package, you can remove the package and set it in front of the hive (or on top).
Read the fully article here: Installing Your New Bees — Prime Bees – College Station Bee & Honey Farm
Over Wintering Nucs- A Better Way by Michael Palmer
03 Tuesday Jul 2018
Posted in beekeeping, beekeeping management, management, Winter
I used to buy bees, lots and lots of bees; singles from South Carolina, nuclei from Florida and frames of brood from New York. I used to buy queens, lots and lots of queens; queens from Georgia, queens from Texas and queens from California. Every year it was the same. Pick up the pieces of my apiary in the Spring, send a big check to southern queen breeders, split up my best colonies, and hope I made enough of a honey crop to pay the bills. Some years I did, some years I did not.
Read full article here: Over Wintering Nucs- A Better Way — BEEKeeping: Your First Three Years
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