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<br /> <br />Nucleus Hives <br />Nucs, or Nucleus Colonies, are small honey bee colonies created from larger colonies. The term <br />refers both to the smaller size box and the colony of honeybees within it. The name is derived from <br />the fact that a nuc hive is centered around a queen - the nucleus of the honey bee colony. <br />A nuc hive has all the features of a standard 10 frame Langstroth hive except with a reduced width. <br />The link shows a United States Department of Agriculture USDA lay out for building a nuc. <br />Nucleus Creation <br />The nuc box, also called a nuc, is a smaller version of a normal beehive, designed to hold fewer <br />frames. The nuc box is smaller because it is intended to contain a smaller number of honeybees, and <br />a smaller space makes it easier for the bees to control the temperature and humidity of the colony, <br />which is vital for brood rearing. When using a Langstroth hive, a nuc is created by pulling two to five <br />frames from an existing colony. These frames and the nurse bees clinging to them form the basis for <br />the nuc colony. <br />A nuc may or may not be given a queen at the time it is created. If the nuc does not contain a queen <br />or queen-cell, but does contain eggs, the workers will create a new queen from one of the eggs. If the <br />nuc is to be given a new queen, the queen will be introduced to the colony in her queen cage either at <br />the time the nuc is split from the main colony, or after a period of queenlessness that increases the <br />likelihood that the new queen will be accepted. Nucs are often used to prevent swarming in a larger <br />colony, by removing frames with queen-cells from a larger colony and using them to provide the <br />basis for a new colony. The removal of queen cells and reduction in population in the donor colony <br />diminish the urge to swarm. This procedure may also be called a walk-away split. <br />Care and Feeding <br />A nuc is extremely vulnerable, as it possesses in some cases less than a tenth of the workers in a <br />normal colony. Nucs are almost always fed using a boardman feeder or frame feeder. Feeding allows <br />the worker bees to remain in the nuc, acting as nurse bees for developing brood. Because of their <br />small population, Nucs are vulnerable to robbing, in which a stronger hive steals all the nectar, <br />honey, or syrup from a weaker hive. The bees from a robbing hive will kill any bees that defend the <br />nuc. Robbing can lead to starvation in days. <br />Uses <br />A nucleus colony can be used to prevent overcrowding in a larger, healthy colony by splitting some <br />of the population off to a new colony. A nuc can also be used to care for spare queens. The loss of a <br />queen in a large colony can set the colony back by up to a month. A nucleus colony can be combined <br />with the larger colony to re-queen it with a much smaller break in brood rearing. A nuc can also grow <br />into a full sized colony, given proper time, favorable weather, and appropriate resources. <br />The terms 'nuc' and 'split' are not strictly interchangeable. While a nuc may have a number of <br />different uses, a split more often refers to dividing a colony for the purposes of growing the removed <br />bees back to a full sized colony. <br />