Do I need nucs?

[TheBuzz]

I'm hopeful my 1st 2 hives overwinter into spring. Then I'm planning to create 5 new hives. Should I start the splits in nucs or just let them build up the hives and divide them in 2? When should I plan to start Apr? May? Jun?

[sfisher]

You can use nucs or divide, thats up to you, nucs might be faster, but thats more money out of pocket. I will let a northern beekeeper answer the when part of your question.

[mmiller]

I love using nucs. I feel the bees build comb and fill them faster than putting them in a big box with alot of extra room. I my bee world I wouldn't be without them. They may be more out of pocket but in my opinion are very much worth it. I cant say for your area but I am in the northern part of the country and of course it depends on weather but I usually make splits in May-ish.

Mike

[Nichols747]

I like using them for a few reasons:
They're cheap - I make my own from plywood, since they are primarily used in the summer, and when I overwinter them, they are under cover to keep the rain off.

They use fewer frames to let a split/swarm/new queen prove themselves.

They're less space for a small colony to maintain conditions to allow comb and brood production.

They're light and easy to hold/move around when doing cutouts/trapouts/swarm collection.

Because I don't medicate, and haven't mastered overwintering, and want to have a ready reserve to repopulate in the spring. - ala Michael Palmer.

Because they're fun! I enjoy observing the growth of a colony, and try to figure out what I am doing right or wrong and how it affects the colony development. They're good for showing people the workings of a hive without a massive population!

Andrew