Overwintering Poly Nucs

[colinc]

I know it's early and I have been searching the forum for a week, on and off, to try to find a good thread on how and when to make up nucs to overwinter a couple of queens. If anyone can point me in the right direction I would be very grateful. Obviously needs to be early enough to get the queen mated but late enough that they don't run out of space.

Thanks


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[oliver90owner]

You are the beekeeper. You should be able to control the colony size later in the season?

 

[Teemore]

Do not overlook the possibility that you could create a Q- Nuc and introduce a mated and laying Queen to it. If you do this, you could "start" a Nuc later in the season. Having additional colonies, you are in the position that you could transfer frames of emerging brood to boost a Nuc later in the season BUT, if you only have a small number of other colonies, you are depleting one or more of them at a time when they are trying to build up bees and stores for the Winter. Nucs made up in the late summer could, if weak, fall victim to wasps. As RAB noted, you are the beekeeper. It is up to you to gauge the prevailing conditions in and around your apiary and amongst your colonies. You and only you can gauge whether your colonies are strong enough to donate frames to create a nuc and later, to donate frames of emerging brood to boost the nuc in preparation for Autumn build up and over-wintering.

 

[colinc]

I know it's early and I have been searching the forum for a week, on and off, to try to find a good thread on how and when to make up nucs to overwinter a couple of queens. If anyone can point me in the right direction I would be very grateful. Obviously needs to be early enough to get the queen mated but late enough that they don't run out of space.

Thanks


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Helpful as ever. You know it all but never part with information readily. Why are you here again?


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[colinc]

Do not overlook the possibility that you could create a Q- Nuc and introduce a mated and laying Queen to it. If you do this, you could "start" a Nuc later in the season. Having additional colonies, you are in the position that you could transfer frames of emerging brood to boost a Nuc later in the season BUT, if you only have a small number of other colonies, you are depleting one or more of them at a time when they are trying to build up bees and stores for the Winter. Nucs made up in the late summer could, if weak, fall victim to wasps. As RAB noted, you are the beekeeper. It is up to you to gauge the prevailing conditions in and around your apiary and amongst your colonies. You and only you can gauge whether your colonies are strong enough to donate frames to create a nuc and later, to donate frames of emerging brood to boost the nuc in preparation for Autumn build up and over-wintering.

Thanks. Something to work on. It is why I am asking the question now. Lots of us newer guys try something from a description but then when the bees go their own way, as they always do, we struggle. I don't want to start a pit if I am not going to be able to dig my way out of it.


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[B+.]

Thanks. Something to work on. It is why I am asking the question now. Lots of us newer guys try something from a description but then when the bees go their own way, as they always do, we struggle. I don't want to start a pit if I am not going to be able to dig my way out of it.

I think Oliver90Owner was suggesting that you could control the size of the nuc by removing a frame of brood occasionally to prevent them from becoming too strong.
If you have several full frame nucs, surplus brood could be donated to other colonies. The same goes for food frames if the queen in the nuc became honeybound.
Personally, I think the opposite could be the probem i.e. during winter, you will be unable to keep an eye on their food reserves so starvation may occur. This is why Michael Palmer has multi-storey nucs. They have enough space (in a vertical format) for winter bees and food. Look up Michaels videos on Youtube at the National Honey Show.

 

[colinc]

I think Oliver90Owner was suggesting that you could control the size of the nuc by removing a frame of brood occasionally to prevent them from becoming too strong.

If you have several full frame nucs, surplus brood could be donated to other colonies. The same goes for food frames if the queen in the nuc became honeybound.

Personally, I think the opposite could be the probem i.e. during winter, you will be unable to keep an eye on their food reserves so starvation may occur. This is why Michael Palmer has multi-storey nucs. They have enough space (in a vertical format) for winter bees and food. Look up Michaels videos on Youtube at the National Honey Show.

Thank you. I will do.


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[Erichalfbee]

Or if you have an old Paynes nuc lying about take the feeder out and make it an eight frame

 

[Beefriendly]

Personally, I think the opposite could be the probem i.e. during winter, you will be unable to keep an eye on their food reserves so starvation may occur. This is why Michael Palmer has multi-storey nucs. They have enough space (in a vertical format) for winter bees and food. Look up Michaels videos on Youtube at the National Honey Show.

Not to mention the heat generation (and conservation) going upwards in that system that helps them to use less stores for generating cluster heat.
Many Europeans and some in the UK use double or quadruple nuc boxes that fit on top of a National (or whatever) hive. They gain the benefit of the heat rising from the strong hive below during the winter.

 

[drex]

Last winter I took 6 home made wooden nucs through the winter 5 or 6 frames in a box, but all with that years queens raised myself. I put hem side by side and just put celotex round the outside of the whole block. In the run up to winter I had to add bees and/ or brood to some, stores to others. Early in the year some needed a top up with fondant, others were OK. In early spring they turned into MIchael Palmers " brood factories" . I was amazed at how they took off compared to my full sized hives. I was often bleeding frames of sealed brood from them to put into the full sized hive colonies, otherwise they would have run out of space.
I think what has been said above, is by reading the colonies ( hefting, quick look in etc) the bees will tell you what is needed. I.e. Low on bees - shake in more, low on brood - give some soon to emerge brood, low on stores - feed.
With a second story they would not have needed so much intervention, but I did not have the equipment.
I will do the same again this year, as they certainly helped ensure good strong colonies in the full sized hives, ready for the rape, without the need for pollen patties etc.
Of course the full sized colonies got me back by wanting to swarm very early

 

[user 6228]

move full colonies into double brood box poly nucs i.e 5/6/7 frames above 5/6/7 frames in late summer. That way the bees can control the space they use themselves. 6 million years of tall narrow insulated cavities must be of some use to the modern beekeeper?

 

[Finman]

I think Oliver90Owner was suggesting that you could control the size of the nuc by removing a frame of brood occasionally to prevent them from becoming too strong.
.

If your colony is strong and normal colony, it is a real advantage compared to a nuc.

 

[Finman]

.
If you have "too strong" nuc, you may use two nuc box wintering.

.

 

[colinc]

Thank you all. Options to consider.


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[oliver90owner]

I think Oliver90Owner was suggesting that you could control the size of the nuc by removing a frame of brood occasionally to prevent them from becoming too strong.-

Any other simple way? Simple beekeeping.