2 Frame Mating Nuc Plans

BEEKEEPERSTIPS.COM

Let’s look at mating nucs and 2 frame mating nuc plans. I personally hate 2 frame mating nucs, and we can look at a few alternatives to these that make a lot more sense.

In all honesty, you really do not. There are better options for mating nucs that ensure the bees are happier and that your queens mate far more successfully.

Why Would We Need A 2 Frame Mating Nuc

Yellow Leaf
Green Leaf
Wavy Line
Squiggly Line

A mating nuc is a small box of bees (nucleus as in a very small seed hive). When we produce large numbers of queens, we need them to hatch out in individual boxes.

What Do We Mean When We Talk About A Mating Nuc?

Off-white Section Separator
Yellow Leaf
Yellow Leaf
Green Leaf
Squiggly Line

I have a few High-density polyurethane foam boxes that I organized in the 1990s. These still work! I see there are now a lot of clones of these. Here is one and here is another.

2 Frame Mating Nuc Plans

Wavy Line
Off-white Section Separator

What Is The Difference Between A Mating Nuc Box and A Nuc Box?

A mating nuc box is really small – it is just enough of a box that there are a few workers to tend to the queen 

Off-white Section Separator

When You Buy A Nuc Does It Come With A Queen?

This will depend on what you organize with the person who makes the nuc for you. Some nucs can have a queen, some can be a split and you may or may not have a queen

A package comes with a mated queen of known provenance and a few pounds of workers. There is no brood and consequently, you have a reduction in brood-born diseases that you buy with your package of bees.

What Are The Disadvantages Of Purchasing A Nuc Over A Package?

Off-white Section Separator
Yellow Leaf
Banner With Dots

ADVICE

When you buy a nuc you inherit all the diseases that were in the mother hive – these include varroa mites. If you buy a nuc that has a queen that will hatch, and you move it to a new area, you may find there are no, or few drones available, and you can end up with a poorly mated queen.

BEEKEEPERSTIPS.COM

Yellow Leaf

For more tips and articles, visit: