WINTER NUCS RESULTS by beekeeper Fred

I took advantage of this warm Sunday morning and did a little work with the winter nus.  I had tried to winter over 12 nucs in double deep five (5) nucs in an effort to cut ties with package bee suppliers.  Eleven (11) of the nucs are presently alive.  That's 11 packages I won't need to buy this spring. The strength of the nucs are varied at this time.  See the picture below of 3 nuc entrances.  All three had bees bringing in pollen.

Based on entrance activity I opened one of the weaker nucs.  Bees in the upper box , but very few in the lower box.  The lower box was practically devoid of honey.  It's reported that a winter nuc will on average consume 25 pounds of food.

Bees on at least 4 frames. The bees have almost consumed the 2 lb. sugar patty I inserted in early.March.  This weaker nuc is equivalent to a 4 frame nuc people buy for $150 and usually they don't get their purchased nuc until mid-May.  By then I expect this nuc to be filling all 10 frames.

Next winter I will be doubling the number of nucs I overwinter so I will no longer need to buy packages in the spring to replace winter losses.

If you want to try this, make sure you really go after the mites in the fall!