Mini mateing nucs

[markfitz]

Hi everyone just wondering doe mini mateing nucs ever swarm and would it ever be possible to over winter them thanks

 

[Stiffy]

Yes and yes.
A crowded mated queen right colony in a min nuc will swarm. I had one of my over wintered apideas do it recently. They took up residency in an empty 14x12........think they were trying to tell me something !
S

 

[MJBee]

Yes and yes.
A crowded mated queen right colony in a min nuc will swarm. I had one of my over wintered apideas do it recently. They took up residency in an empty 14x12........think they were trying to tell me something !
S

Apidea to 14 x 12 !! they were not "telling" you they were shouting at you lol

Agree with your "yes and yes" trying to find a swarm the size of a tennis ball is a challenge too .

 

[markfitz]

Thanks for the reply

 

[Stiffy]

Apidea to 14 x 12 !! they were not "telling" you they were shouting at you lol

Agree with your "yes and yes" trying to find a swarm the size of a tennis ball is a challenge too .

Have left them in the 14x12 even though they look a bit silly sitting in the centre! Building nicely they might just fill all the frames before winter
S

 

[markfitz]

Re: selling honey

Would the virgin queen thats left behind be of poor quality due to the small amount of bees to feed her in a small mateing nuc

 

[Stiffy]

In my case I popped the q cell and bees in a full q- Nuc. Too early to see if she is any good but if she is like her grandmother and mother she will be fine
S

 

[Midland Beek]

Yes and yes.

 

[DulwichGnome]

I have heard of them absconding more than swarming. I have over wintered with them in a super and then, without opening the lid, you can slid it forward to get to the feeder.

Mike

 

[Finman]

.
Question is not about idea that I get a queen over winter with minimum bee number. Such colony is not able to rear brood in spring.

Then mininucs. What a 2-hive owner makes with mininucs. They work with professionals who rear 1000 queens.

Who ever he is, the queen mates and soon it needs a real hive where to lay and which rear the colony.
3-4 frames nuc is suitable to hobby beekeeper to mate queens. Before mating a queen needs only one frames of bees, but 10 days later it needs 3 frames.

In wintering hives small colonies makes only harm. After winter a colony needs at least 5 frames of bees. Otherwise bees must taken from bigger hives. To rear one box hive is easier than half box.

Guys want to rear hives in autumn. It is difficult. They are better to rear in summer.

.Remember...
.

 

[Finman]

I have heard of them absconding more than swarming.

A small colony swarms when the queen has no laying places. ...Time to find better place. So do big hives too.

 

[markfitz]

Thanks everyone

 

[Goran]

For overwintering of mininucs in more boxes, type in a google picture search " brndin nukleus", maybe will be interesting for you to see..