Start a nuc without brood?

[Aisha]

Can I start a nuc with a new queen, honey frames and some workers?

Or do I need brood to get the workers to stay put?

Their old, active hive would be nearby.

[iddee]

It will work if you move the old hive and leave the nuc in the original location.

[Michael Bush]

It is difficult, but not impossible, to get them to stay without some brood. I would use at least one frame of brood and one frame of honey if you have them.

[Mike Gillmore]

This would be another option to get some "young" bees in your nuc. They will be more likely to stay put then those that have already been out of the hive.

Take a few frames with eggs and larvae from your existing colony and shake off all of the bees. Replace them temporarily with empty frames. Put down a queen excluder, then another empty box. Put the frames with eggs and larvae in the empty box above the excluder.

Come back the next day and you will have young bees on the frames above the excluder tending the brood. Shake all of these bees into your nuc. They are more likely to stay in the nuc since most of them have never ventured out of the old hive yet. Then you can put everything back the way it was.

If you can spare it though, even one frame with open brood will have a tremendous effect in your new nuc in keeping them content and fixed to their new home.