Nucs

Splitting 6 Frame Nucs

As strange as it may sound; yes, we split nucs! Matter of fact, we prefer splitting nucs to generate more nucs.

To make this sound logical, you need to change the typical thought process of what nucs are used for. The traditional nuc process is creating nucs from extra strong hives for next years’ increase. They can come out of winter with 3 frames of brood shortly thereafter and can be moved to 10 frame boxes in May.

If you don’t need the extra hives, nucs can be used to generate extra brood – and a productive queen can donate lots of frames in a season. All you require are nuc supers which give the queen extra laying space.

Another use for extra nucs is for splits . We will split strong nucleus colonies to make more nucs. If we have a strong 6 frame nuc, in June/July, they can easily be split into 2 – 3 frames/nucs. Even though this is not the purpose of a nuc, a strong queen can easily outlay 6 frames. We’ve discovered that splitting nucs is quicker because there are less frames to inspect and you don’t reduce potential of production hives. Let the producers produce honey and let the nucs make more nucs. Of course, you could always put them into 10 frame equipment and use the same techniques.

In anticipation for splitting nucs, we add nucs supers to give the queen 12 frames of laying space. That’s more space than a single brood chamber! Splitting a nuc that is supered, is easy because you locate the queen, and remove the already populated nuc super for an easy walkaway split.

Although this is unconventional, we always split our nucs to generate more nucs. Besides being used for increase, they are great brood factories.

How many Nucs do I Need

The first step is to run as many nucs as you will require to recover your winter losses. If you have 100 hives and expect a 10% winter loss. you will need 10 nucs to recover. Always add extras because some nucs don’t turn out and may die out as well so I would run 15 nucs in this scenario. If you plan to increase hive numbers next year, add on that number. You then have to decide how many nucs you plan on using for splits. Finally, add the number of nucs you plan on selling.

Number of nucs = winter loss recovery + increase numbers + splits + nuc sales

Not all nucs will make it through the winter so remember to compensate for nuc winter losses too.

If you’re not sure, a simple number is around 30% your total hive count. That’s a good number to start with. So if you run 100 hives, have 30-35 nucs winter-ready by end of fall.  

Making nucs is a great way to increase the number of hives you have or to make a little extra revenue selling them. During the past 5 years there has been a push towards more sustainable beekeeping methods. Queen rearing and making nucs are two essential components of having a sustainable apiary.

How to make a Nuc

In order to make a nuc, you need to find the following frames from a strong donor hive:

• At least 2 frames of brood
• 1 frame of pollen/honey

You will pull these frames from a donor hive. They don’t necessarily have to be from the same hive, multiple hives can be used to make up a single nuc. However, a strong hive should have no problem donating 3 frames in late spring. I prefer to use hives that will become a swarming risk later in the year. Place the three frames as outlined in the picture below in the center of drawn comb.

To Move or Not to Move

When you are finished making up the nuc, close up the lid and move the nuc 3 miles away from the donor hives so the bees don’t fly back to the donor hives. This isn’t a requirement, but I’ve discovered that nucs do much better if they are moved. You will have more bees and more bees = stronger nucs.

If moving isn’t an option, the nucs can stay in the same yard. This can work, but it will take much longer for them to get established. That is because all the forager bees (bees that leave the hive) will fly back to the donor hive and you will be left with only younger nurse bees that that have never left their origional hives.

What about the Queen?

All nucs require a new queen. You have two options:

1. Add a mated queen
2. Add a queen cell

Either option will work but they require different approaches.

If you add a mated queen, you can add a new caged queen right away or leave them queenless for 24 hours. I’ve never noticed a difference with acceptance so I usually add a caged queen right away to save the extra trip to the nuc yard. The queen needs to stay caged for 3 days so the bees get use to the queen pharamones.

If you add a queen cell, it’s all about timing when you make the nucs. You need to make the nucs two days before the virgin queen is scheduled to hatch. This will give the nuc 24 hours time to realize they are queenless. The day after you make the nucs, add a queen cell between the two center frames. This will the bees 24 hours to realize they have a queen cell. After adding a queen cell, wait 2-3 days before checking if they are hatched. If they are hatched, remove the cell and leave the nuc alone for about two weeks. Do not inspect or distrub a hive/nuc with a virgin queen. You increase the risk of the virgin queen being killed if you disturb it too often. Virgin queens are also very flighty and you risk having her fly away on you.

Leave the nuc alone for two weeks and if all goes well, you should find a mated queen that has started laying eggs. This is one of the most rewarding aspects of beekeeping for me.

Nuc Size

Nucs can be many different sizes and the size is usually beekeeper preference. Nucs can be anywhere between 3 – 6 frames. We use 6 frame nucs because it’s large enough so when you transfer established nucs to 10 frame equipment, they have no problem adjusting. 6 frame nucs also winter well here in Manitoba

Each summer, we make our own Manitoba nucs for next years’ increase and winter loss replacement. A nuc is simply a ‘baby hive’ made up of  2 frames of brood from a strong donor hive and 1 frame of pollen/honey. They are put into 5 or 6 frame boxes and allowed to establish themselves with a new queen. We graft our own queens during the summer from proven local stock. If the queen is acceptable, the nuc will grow and will be ready to be moved into a larger 10 frame hive mid July or wintered as a nuc.

The photo on the right shows 6 nucs in Jester nuc boxes. They are five frame corrugated plastic and make excellent nuc boxes due to their portability. Since we move nucs to a new yard after making them, these boxes are great because they have an easy to close entrance and can easily be gripped for handling. Sometimes we make nucs directly with our wooden 6 frame nucs and that also works well.

For more information on our process, we have a article on our nuc making process.

We have nucs available for sale available in Mid-May. All nucs are 4 frames and come with 3 frames of brood and one honey/pollen frame. Due to the limited supply, we will require a down payment for all orders. Four frame nucs are priced at $200.