Pain nuc

[farbee]

I have just received my pains national nuc box.

I will be tranferring a small colony (a late cast swarm) into it tomorrow as it still look warm around here (but getting cold by the weekend). But I want to continue feeidng them. If I put syrup in the feeder and they don't use it would I have to remove for the winter as it would release too much moisture? Would I be better off putting fondant in there instead?

 

[itma]

Best is never to use the built-in feeder. Change the scrap of QX mesh to unperforated plastic and seal off the bee-entrance.
Five frames + a frame feeder works.
Using Pains eke to provide space for a feeder works. / though you might want to make up a feeder board to the external dimensions of the cover sheet.

Thin slices of fondant under the cover should work for now. You can even leave the cover sheet off for a week or so (allowing thicker slices!) They shouldn't be building brace comb at this point. No bad thing to vaseline the mating faces though. They will put prop there - which is why the coversheet is supplied.

But you could, if you really wanted to, put fondant into the built-in.
Almost anything else would be better though.

 

[Swarm]

I read a post (can't remember who it was) describing how they'd cut away the feeder inner wall to create a bigger nuc. I sealed mine (an earlier type) with a piece of plastic and stuffed the space to fill it. A frame feeder is ok for summer but requires opening up to fill it, far better to utilise an eke for feeding as itma suggests.

 

[For want of a better word]

No problem... fill with thymolated 2:1 syrup
Bees will take it down, ignore it of fill the space with brace comb and that with stores.

I have three with Cornish Black bees with 3 frames solid with stores and remaining three textbook stores pollen + BIS
have fitted the solid entrance to feeder blocker and filled the empty feeder void with a upholstery foam.

I have noticed that the local swarm/ bait hive colony bees collected and grown on to split for Amm nucs do tend to build brace comb. Later splits into three nucs get to keep the swarm queens... because I do not have the heart to squish them and in all probability they cost someone around here £50 for a buckfart queen from a breeder!

Have designs to modify a beekeepingsupplies polly hive into a double nuc on the lines of the abello double boxes, but with full size frames ( even 14 x 12 ) that could take 2 rapid feeders... but have enough pa ynes ones to be getting on with ( plus all the old cedar ones that are OK for the warmer days!

If the nucs feel low on stores I have in the past squidged a lump of fondant on top of the foam by simply sliding back the thin clear cover sheet.. replacing the solid block with the qe one.

 

[Poly Hive]

There is no problem with moving a crown board to one side to access a frame feeder.

Me thinks some are making life far more difficult for themselves than necessary.

If your nuc has a built in feeder then for goodness sake use it. If you have access concerns for the bees then put in something for them to use to get in and out, a twig, some straw... bits of wood.. all are good.

PH

 

[sipa]

Remember, bees won't move sideways over frames to break a cluster even if starving.
If the bees are begining to cluster then the built in feeder will be useless.

Feed on the top.

 

[betterbee]

p*** nucs

have used p***** nucs for 2 years,with the supplied wooden float in the feeder compartment,never had any bees drowned

 

[Poly Hive]

Bees cluster a lot less in poly, and less tight and it needs lower temperatures to force them into cluster.

I am making this as a general observation.

PH

 

[itma]

have used p***** nucs for 2 years,with the supplied wooden float in the feeder compartment,never had any bees drowned

Just wondering it you'd used them for overwintering?

One significant problem is that the built-in feeder cannot reasonably be cleaned while there are bees in the hive. Any mess, mould, dead bees, etc are going to be there for the duration.

 

[drstitson]

i've used them fine for overwintering (with extra insulation on top).

feeder gets a suitably sized sheet of fondant dropped into it.

 

[Poly Hive]

Mess in the feeder is a significant problem? In what way?

The bees will clear out the syrup, and what is left bar the float material?

People keep inventing issues...

Relax. KISS

I have used frame feeders for near 25 years and cannot honestly say I have had a significant problem. I test them for leaks pre use, repair if required, and use them. The bees empty them and I fill them. They empty them and so on and then that's it. Air insulation for the brood boxes on each side is provided free of charge and the feeders are in ready for Spring.

PH

 

[fatshark]

I use these ... but only after ripping out the intervening wall to make what is effectively an 8 frame poly nuc. With the built-in feeder I did have problems with syrup going mouldy and bees drowning, despite a suitable float. I also had brace comb built in the narrow confines of the built-in feeder when I used it for fondant. Clearly others get these to work just fine ...

I'm very happy to use frame feeders, but much prefer those I can empty by simply lifting them out rather than inverting a box full of bees

 

[Stiffy]

Over wintered a couple last year and used thymol syrup. All works fine, when I checked mid winter most of syrup had been used so added fondant on top. By spring all feed had gone and each nuc was ready to transfer to hive. Have six nucs of Buckfast overwintering this year.
S


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[itma]

...
I have used frame feeders for near 25 years and cannot honestly say I have had a significant problem. I test them for leaks pre use, repair if required, and use them. The bees empty them and I fill them. They empty them and so on and then that's it. Air insulation for the brood boxes on each side is provided free of charge and the feeders are in ready for Spring.

PH - have you used one of these specific things?

Its not a frame feeder - its a permanently fixed part of the hive - the hive is moulded as two cavities, one for the frames and one as a 'feeder'.


I think its a nice box - and a bargain at the current sale price (I'm even getting at least one more) - but also that the integral feeder is best to be simply blocked off. Avoid trouble rather than have to deal with it!
As a nuc with space for six frames, its great as five frames plus a frame feeder.

 

[For want of a better word]

It is an integral frame feeder made as part of the box.
Started out as a fish box I believe.
Kept topped up with 2:1 thymolated syrup has not caused any problems to the Amms throughout this season... although has suffered brace comb from some of the non native variety it seems.
Will be interesting to see how they cope with the "Siberian winter" we have been promised

 

[youngyoungs]

I've used these nucs and found that unlike previous occupants who build brace comb in there, the latest occupants chose to drown in the syrup. I decided to empty out and start again, but same thing happened. Once (if) this colony survives the winter, I'll be taking out the dividing wall, using the space for an extra frame and feeding using an extra eke.

 

[Moggs]

Pea netting as used for growing peas! Stuff some in the feeder cavity before filling.

 

[farbee]

Thanks for all the help.

It seems most have had no problem putting thymolated syrup into feeder so will have a go at that but will bnlock off if I get problem as suggested.

Love the pea netting idea. Simply but great.

 

[drstitson]

"Will be interesting to see how they cope with the "Siberian winter" we have been promised"

mine did fine under 2m of snow this year - although that was with a proper roof with internal 50mm kingspan.

 

[Poly Hive]

The more snow the better, free insulation!

PH