A Nucleus, or "Nuc" Box is just-right for making splits, transferring colonies, or increasing apiary size. We carry a range of assembled and unassembled 5 frame nuc boxes and components.
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Nuc Boxes are used to hive a small colony of bees — usually a package, swarm, or split — but we've discovered several other uses for Nuc Boxes. Here are our favorite alternative uses for Nucs:
- Holding frames while we inspect a bee hive or redistribute resources
- Serving as a bait box to capture swarms
- Functioning as a mating nuc for raising queens
- Adding a strap and dividers to create a useful toolbox for the yard
- Housing a battery for an electric fence in our bee yards — unofficially coined the "nuclear power plant"
Double Nucs help Northern beekeepers minimize their dependence on package bees: You can overwinter bees in 8 frames arranged in a 4-frame over 4-frame configuration. The overwintered nucs we sell are raised in these nuc boxes.