News from the Hive: What is a “NUC”?

A Nuc (mini-hive) is the best and more secure way to start hive because your colony will be off to a much better start than a colony started from packaged bees. A nuc is incentually a small working hive, where as a package bees are a box with bees with a queen. When buying package bees you have to supply the bees with their new home. You may run the risk of the bees rejecting the new home provided and take off else where. Nucs come with frames filled with brood, honey and pollen provided by the queen and bees of the nuc. The frames are well covered with enough bees to keep the brood warm and to take care of the small hive. A healthy, young, laying queen is also included with the nuc. A nuc will grow fast enough so that bees are a established colony and at full strength for when the honey flow starts.