Mating nucs

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Red Bee

House Bee
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Dec 11, 2008
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Do people keep their mating nucs in the same apiary as they source the nuc bees from, I know its better to take the nucs away but can it be done in the same place? I'm just thinking ahead as I would like to give Q rearing a go this season. Where I keep my hives I could possibly keep the nucs 500 or 6oo yards away from the source hives. Possible or not?

Thanks Red bee.
 
Where I keep my hives I could possibly keep the nucs 500 or 6oo yards away from the source hives. Possible or not?

Thanks Red bee.

That makes things only complex. Nucs are easier to nurse among other hives or then 2 miles away. I prefer 2 miles distance. It is easy to make start mating nucs and stop them.
 
Yes it is possible especially if you ensure you have young bees in your nuc and close them in for three days or so before you let them fly.

If you do that there is no real need to have them x yds away.

PH
 
Do people keep their mating nucs in the same apiary as they source the nuc bees from, I know its better to take the nucs away but can it be done in the same place? I'm just thinking ahead as I would like to give Q rearing a go this season. Where I keep my hives I could possibly keep the nucs 500 or 6oo yards away from the source hives. Possible or not.

500-600 yards away breaks the 3 feet / 3 mile rule

I put mine either on top of existing hives, or on a shelf on the fence nearby, as long as the queen can find it after a mating flight then it makes no difference where it is situated, as long as it doesn't get too hot as mini nucs often have big trouble keeping the hive temperature under control.
 
In mating nuc making there are two things:

1) You put the bees inside the nuc. If you move them 32 miles, they stay inside.
If they are nearer, the fly to ex home.

2) You take the queen away and you should join bees and brood to another hives or nuc. You join to nearest hive or move 2 miles. When you move 2 miles you may join bees where ever.
 
1) You put the bees inside the nuc. If you move them 32 miles, they stay inside. If they are nearer, the fly to ex home.

But only if you fill the nuc with flying bees and leave the entrance open immediately after. As Polyhive said, fill it with mainly younger bees, keep them sealed up in a cool place for a few days and you don't loose the fliers even if they are a couple of feet from their original home.
 
And whilst sealed up ensure plenty of 1:1 syrup in the feeding area (with twigs etc so they can climb up and down to feed without drowning) so they have water and food available to encourage comb building and development.
 
My meaning was 3-2 miles, not 32.

If mating nucs combs are normal frames, you need to worry about things what Heather says. No skaing, no comb building, no feeding. I use bee comb, food comb and foundation. Foundation I use that they use extra nectar into comb building.
 
I think when a nuc is moved 3 miles alot of the fliers are still lost ie. they fly out, cant find home and are lost. Try weighing a nuc before and after opening it 3 miles away from the parent hive - they definitely lose weight. I make up nucs in the same or a close by site so at least the fliers are not lost to me( they return to the parent hive). The only dissadvantage to this that I can see is if for some reason they go back to the parent hive with the news that theres lightly defended food in the nuc and so set up a robbing episode. This can be avoided by not feeding the nuc for a while ie. letting the fliers go back to the parent hive before feeding the nuc.
Some would say this would leave the nuc undersupplied with bees but I think wether youve moved them 5 yards or 3 miles you still lose the fliers so I'd rather make the nucs up strong, with younger bees as PH and m100 say, and have the fliers go back and reinforce one of my hives rather than being lost to the countryside or joining another colony.
 
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