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Eversweet
ApiarieS
Providing Local Honey, Woodenware, Hardware, & Apiary Services for over 10 years.
Winter Nucs
A winter nuc is simply a nuc that has been over-wintered. The goal of a winter nuc is to use them
as back-up colonies in the spring to replace any winter loses. Winters nucs are cared for just like
regular hives only on a smaller scale. Over-wintering nucs is highly recommended as long as you
have the resources to make them & the time to care for them. It can very rewarding to be able to
replace your own colony with your bees if needed & not have to buy more bees!
Winter Nuc Equipment
A typical winter nuc usually consists of the following 5 frame equipment:
- Nuc Solid Bottom Board or
Screened Bottom Board
- Deep Nuc Box
- Medium Nuc Box
- Feeder/Medication Box or
Nuc Top Feeder Box
- Nuc Inner Cover
- Nuc Metal telescoping or
Migratory Lid
Nuc Telescoping Roof
Nuc Top Feeder Box
Medium Nuc Box
Deep Nuc Box
Nuc Solid Bottom Board
We recommend using telescoping lids as they are more stable in positioning & provide better
insulation. We also recommend using top feeder boxes because they are more convenient than
using zip-loc baggies for sugar water which lay in the area of the feeder/medication box (basically
like a large shim). Depending on if you medicate & what type of treatment, you may need to use
the feeder/medication box for a place to put your medication (e.g, Apiguard needs some
space to place it & most nuc top feeders are ﬂush/ﬂat on the bottom). Solid bottom boards are
more insulated than screened bottom boards; however, you can insert cardboard or other
material to cover the screen on most screened bottom boards.
Copyright © 2014 Eversweet Apiaries. All rights reserved.
Herbert Everhart
85 Everhart Drive
Kearneysville, WV 25430
(304) 876-3832
[email protected]
eversweetapiaries.com facebook.com/eversweetapiaries
Page 2 of 3
Eversweet
ApiarieS
Providing Local Honey, Woodenware, Hardware, & Apiary Services for over 10 years.
Winter Nucs
Making Up The Nuc
Winter Nuc Components:
Deep box:
Queen
1 honey frame
2 Brood frames
1 drawn comb
1 pollen frame
Medium box:
At least 3 honey frames
2 drawn comb
Use only drawn comb. It is very stressful for bees to
draw out comb & they use a lot of resources to do so.
They will need all the honey stores you give them to go
through winter & you don't want them eating it up
before they have to. Place the drawn deep comb next to
the brood frames for the queen to lay.
Late July – early August is the best time to start up a
winter nuc for the West Virginia region. Only make a
winter nuc up if you feel your parent hive(s) can spare
the resources. For those who have several hives, this is
usually possible by taking a brood frame from each
hive & hopefully you will have a few medium frames
of honey as well. If you have more than 5 deep brood
frames in a strong story & ½ colony they will be a good
candidate for taking a brood frame. Select brood frames
that are more than 50% covered on both sides with all
stages of brood, nice pollen arch & honey if possible. Do
not remove the bees from the brood frames. Those are
the nurse bees who will be caring for the brood. If your
Nice brood frame for nuc. More than 50%
parent hive is strong enough, shake some extra bees
covered on both sides with all stages of brood,
into the nuc. Always be careful when taking the brood/
nice pollen arch & honey.
bees not to take the parent hive's queen.
Our queens come in California mini-cages & we do not use the candy tube at this time of year.
Install her on or in between the brood frames. We leave the cork in & release her after 5 days.
Since the nectar ﬂow is slowing down in late July - August the bees can be more reluctant to
accept her & they chew through the candy tube too fast.
Copyright © 2014 Eversweet Apiaries. All rights reserved.
Herbert Everhart
85 Everhart Drive
Kearneysville, WV 25430
(304) 876-3832
[email protected]
eversweetapiaries.com facebook.com/eversweetapiaries
Page 3 of 3
Eversweet
ApiarieS
Providing Local Honey, Woodenware, Hardware, & Apiary Services for over 10 years.
Winter Nucs
Winter Nuc Care & Maintenance
Again, care & maintenance is the same as regular hives; just on a smaller scale. Put them on the
same regimen & inspection schedule as your regular hives.
We won’t go into detail about medications. There are so many & diﬀerent applications for
each. Just remember to decrease the amount by the recommended dose of 10 frame
equipment.
In our region around July 15th the nectar ﬂow has halted. There are usually small nectar/pollen
sources but never enough to fully provide nutrients for the bees. Start feeding them a ½ pound
pollen patties & 1:1 sugar water. Continue to feed the nuc through September – October and
check periodically for the queen.
In October – November, depending on how cold it is, remove the feeder, use the inner cover &
start feeding them ½ pound of corn starch free fondant. Fondant containing corn starch will
bound up the bees' digestive system.
Again, dependent on the weather, continue fondant feeding through January – February.
Mid-February – March start feeding pollen patties again. If above freezing weather is occurring
in March, remove inner cover, replace feeder, & feed 1:1 sugar water. This will stimulate brood
production.
By March you should have any idea if you will need to replace your regular hive with the
winter nuc. Hopefully, you won't have to but if so & all went well with your nuc, you've
successfully been able to replace your own colonies!
Copyright © 2014 Eversweet Apiaries. All rights reserved.
Herbert Everhart
85 Everhart Drive
Kearneysville, WV 25430
(304) 876-3832
[email protected]
eversweetapiaries.com facebook.com/eversweetapiaries