small tip if you have nucs

[Jimy Dee]

I had a nuc which was not thriving as good as I wished. I checked it and in the middle was a frame full of drone brood. The queen would not pass it and only laid eggs on one side, hence reduced eggs and resultant reduced bee numbers. I promptly moved this frame to the edge as I did not have a frame to replace it. Of course a drone frame should have been in the make up of a nuc but these things happen. So if you have a nuc check and make sure you have no frames dominated with drone brood. Hope this helps someone. Best of luck.

 

[itma]

... Of course a drone frame should NOT have been in the make up of a nuc but these things happen.

Fixed that for you …

 

[domino]

Actually I have a question about overwintering in a poly nuc. I've got four frames of bees in a paynes poly nuc, they are very nice calm bees so I want to keep them.

I don't normally put syrup in them because it's messy.

Any tips of overwintering, I've never done it in a poly nuc before and I don't want to put them in a woodern box atm.

 

[Swarm]

They should overwinter ok in the nuc, just make sure they have sufficient stores.

 

[Pete D]

I don't normally put syrup in them because it's messy.

Any tips of overwintering, I've never done it in a poly nuc before and I don't want to put them in a woodern box atm.

I stick slices of fondant in the feeder even this time of the year, same over winter all came through last year.

 

[itma]

Because the roof is thinner than the walls, the clear coversheet is the site for condensation - directly above the bees!
Extra top insulation is the answer. A Paynes eke stuffed with insulation (carefully cut Kingspan or a bag of polystyrene packaging chippings) prevents condensation on the coversheet - which I believe to be worthwhile.

Last winter I overwintered a really tiny colony (a late September swarm I collected) in a Paynes polynuc with extra roof insulation AND a Kingspan "bonnet". They got through and used an extraordinarily small amount of stores during an admittedly mild winter.

 

[REDWOOD]

I added a frame of pollen and honey to a nuc today that was struggling a bit, if they don't get sorted by next week I will add a frame of emerging brood.

 

[enrico]

I agree with pete, stick fondant in the feeder.
E

 

[itma]

I agree with pete, stick fondant in the feeder.
E

Not being contrary, but in midwinter that potentially risks isolation starvation.
Better to offer fondant in thin sheets under the coversheet, and ensure it is checked (hey, its transparent) occasionally in case it needs topping up.

 

[enrico]

My paines nuc has no cover sheet!
E

 

[Tremyfro]

You could only put fondant on top of the bars if you use an eke as the clear plastic sheet sits directly on the top bars. I like the idea tho rather than the feeder.

 

[joctcl]

My paines nuc has no cover sheet!
E

It should have been supplied with one where did you buy it!

 

[itma]

My paines nuc has no cover sheet!
E

The earliest ones didn't have them. After they discovered that propolising the roof in place was 'tricky' to deal with, they included the coversheet - even with the late Mark 1s. (The Mark 2 has the revised entrance capable of closure by the disc, and all those come/came with a coversheet.)

But Paynes do sell them as spares (£2.50 ish) … though you can make one.
The small sheet of B&Q twinwall (like Correx) 4mm polycarbonate (for conservatory glazing) yields two national coverboards and one for a Paynes polynuc. Rather stiffer than the original, not too thick (important because of the roof overlap) and at about £8 for the B&Q sheet, decent value.

 

[Jimy Dee]

Itma - just checked forum again. Thanks for the correction. Most definitely meant to write that the drone comb should NOT have been put into the nuc. The history being it was a split I did in hurry when I discovered queen cells and I was under pressure and never really checked the type of comb.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

My paines nuc has no cover sheet!
E

Nice 12mm plywood nuc with an extra deep roof - no problem putting fondat either above the feeder board or on top of the frames with a shallow eke (but then i build my nics with top beespace so no problems) No trouble overwintering even small colonies - took three through winter last year

 

[itma]

You could only put fondant on top of the bars if you use an eke as the clear plastic sheet sits directly on the top bars. I like the idea tho rather than the feeder.

No, the sheet is a beespace clear of the topbars in an unmodified Paynes polynuc.
So you can put in a big (but 10mm thin) slice of fondant under the coversheet.



You do lose the top beespace if you add frame rails … which I have done on a few of my ekes (I run 14x12). Undecided as to whether a good or a bad idea. Lose top beespace, but make frame inspection easier. Undecided.

 

[joctcl]

I have done on a few of my ekes (I run 14x12). Undecided as to whether a good or a bad idea. Lose top beespace, but make frame inspection easier. Undecided.

+1

 

[Teemore]

I ran a Paynes Poly Nuc with frame rails for a while and really didn't like the loss of beespace above the frames. I remedied it by making a rimmed crownboard for it, restoring the beespace. I only did this as I had bees in the Nuc at the time and after overwintering them and moving the colony on to a full hive, I removed the frame rails. I have made about 14 nucs and some have frame rails, some don't.

 

[Finman]

.
If you have big hives, you may take couple of capped food frames to the nuc.
But let it grow now.

Another thing is that if you have another nuc box, you may use one on another 2-box system and the colony is able to grow.

 

[Teemore]

.
If you have big hives, you may take couple of capped food frames to the nuc.
But let it grow now.

Another thing is that if you have another nuc box, you may use one on another 2-box system and the colony is able to grow.