Mike a
Drone Bee
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2010
- Messages
- 1,785
- Reaction score
- 4
- Location
- Hampshire
- Hive Type
- Langstroth
- Number of Hives
- Between 17-20
I bought two mini mating nucs from http://www.lyson.com.pl Poland. I was a little crafty as the english section of the website didn't list these nuc's at the time but using the translate option on my browser I still managed to order two of the nucs for 61.48 PLN + 22% Vat and P&P which came to 150.01PLN or £31.06 at the time I ordered for both of them not each.
For this you get
Poly floor, brood body, divided feeder, roof, 7 mini frames, various entrance blocks, 2x vent covers and poly divider.
Once you have placed your order they send you a bill to be paid before your order is despatched as they do not have an online payment option. I went to the bank and asked them to do a worldpay payment transfer direct which solves the problem of currency and posting a cheque all in one. For some reason though my payment got over-looked and I was told they had a company holiday shut down period which is why it took 5 weeks to get a reply to numerous emails chasing up my order but despite all problems it was worth it.
For a full range of larger pictures goto - http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/mikesbeekeeping/PolishPolyHive2010#
My thoughts
Over all I am impressed with the nuc compared against the other mini mating nucs (Swi-bine and Kieler) I've bought. I guess the burning question is how tough is it ?
It arrived with minor damage, but it is only surface damage (as seen in the pictures) no doubt caused in transit by the various couriers as it was not labelled as fragile but once coated with exterior quality paint it should be very durable.
Being larger in size it will give the owner a greater level of confidence the colony has more room to expand on the half size frames (compared to BS National frame - see frame comparison picture) and in turn the colony is less likely to swarm once the queen has mated. Once the colony covers the three frames the dummy divider can be removed to allow the colony to expand further to use all 7 frames or shock swarmed into the hive/nuc with frames of your choice.
The frame top bars I got will need a small amount of adjustment to fit properly within the nuc as they are slightly too long, but once made up the frames are very good and some one has put some thought in to their design by adding foundation guides on the inside of the side bars. (See picture http://lh4.ggpht.com/_5FtvKw0fcgI/TFaZTt-jQUI/AAAAAAAACkI/ABiobOqoKXQ/s512/pph015.jpg ) it is a little difficult to see but the top bars are 3-4mm too long as the lug isn't seated properly on the frame rest.
I will add some comments to each of the pictures on piscaweb album shortly but overall I would definitely buy more of these instead of the other types of mini mating nucs as I would feel happy to put a small colony in the nuc with all seven frames (no divider) to over winter in.
£31.06 for two of these delivered I think is very good value for money if you don't mind waiting a few weeks.
For this you get
Poly floor, brood body, divided feeder, roof, 7 mini frames, various entrance blocks, 2x vent covers and poly divider.
Once you have placed your order they send you a bill to be paid before your order is despatched as they do not have an online payment option. I went to the bank and asked them to do a worldpay payment transfer direct which solves the problem of currency and posting a cheque all in one. For some reason though my payment got over-looked and I was told they had a company holiday shut down period which is why it took 5 weeks to get a reply to numerous emails chasing up my order but despite all problems it was worth it.
For a full range of larger pictures goto - http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/mikesbeekeeping/PolishPolyHive2010#
My thoughts
Over all I am impressed with the nuc compared against the other mini mating nucs (Swi-bine and Kieler) I've bought. I guess the burning question is how tough is it ?
It arrived with minor damage, but it is only surface damage (as seen in the pictures) no doubt caused in transit by the various couriers as it was not labelled as fragile but once coated with exterior quality paint it should be very durable.
Being larger in size it will give the owner a greater level of confidence the colony has more room to expand on the half size frames (compared to BS National frame - see frame comparison picture) and in turn the colony is less likely to swarm once the queen has mated. Once the colony covers the three frames the dummy divider can be removed to allow the colony to expand further to use all 7 frames or shock swarmed into the hive/nuc with frames of your choice.
The frame top bars I got will need a small amount of adjustment to fit properly within the nuc as they are slightly too long, but once made up the frames are very good and some one has put some thought in to their design by adding foundation guides on the inside of the side bars. (See picture http://lh4.ggpht.com/_5FtvKw0fcgI/TFaZTt-jQUI/AAAAAAAACkI/ABiobOqoKXQ/s512/pph015.jpg ) it is a little difficult to see but the top bars are 3-4mm too long as the lug isn't seated properly on the frame rest.
I will add some comments to each of the pictures on piscaweb album shortly but overall I would definitely buy more of these instead of the other types of mini mating nucs as I would feel happy to put a small colony in the nuc with all seven frames (no divider) to over winter in.
£31.06 for two of these delivered I think is very good value for money if you don't mind waiting a few weeks.
