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Too late for nucs?

6K views 32 replies 19 participants last post by  davemal 
#1 ·
Just from what I read here most of you that ordered nucs last year for this spring have received them. The guy I bought mine from says they are still not ready yet. What? Am I being too unreasonable to think I should have had them by now? The rest of my bees are going like gangbusters and the flow here in Ohio seems great and it is the middle of June. Would you wait or ask for your money back? Thanks guys.
 
#2 ·
>> Would you wait or ask for your money back?

Well, what are your other options for buying nucs? Are there other nuc vendors in your area able to deliver?

Or, you could conceivably create your own 'nucs' by splitting some of your gangbuster hives and adding a purchased queen.
 
#4 ·
Another Ohio guy here. I’ve successfully kept a swarm caught mid July of 2016 and still have it now and it’s a gang buster hive filling it’s 3rd super currently, I would think a nuc in June would have far better odds than that swarm I caught. Do you have extra frames of drawn comb to help them build up quicker?
 
#7 ·
In my area they will soon struggle. It's less than ideal. No supplier should have issues producing nucs right after May. It's the early nucs and packages that are challenging.

If you're putting them on foundation I probably would wait until next year. If you have 5-10 combs for them might not be so bad. A nuc late in the season just isn't worth as much, less potential and still have to bear the burden of overwintering.
 
#8 ·
Why are they late? How late are they? In Louisvie I made 22 nucs by April 17th. They're now on their 3rd deep. Ide ask for my money back. Split your own hives with bought queens.

Nucs late in the season arnt worth as much IMO. You've lost the "potential' of the season. Less honey, less comb, less growth and still have to bear the burden of overwintering. If you have 5-10 extra combs maybe not so bad. Foundation ide pass.
 
#9 ·
loghousebees,

Something is not adding up. Especially considering the robust condition of your current hives. When did he suggest they would be ready when you ordered them? Did you order the nucs late? Maybe at the bottom of the list? If not, I would suggest requesting a refund and spending that money on mated queens and putting together some small splits from your existing hives.

I had some overwintered nucs that I've already put into production equipment. A couple nucs I have already split and installed purchased queens in them weeks ago. You only have a few more weeks of a good flow, then we'll be getting into the summer dearth. It's not too late to do some splits and help them along this summer, but spending money on nucs this late in Ohio is wasted money, in my opinion anyway.
 
#10 ·
They were supposed to be survivor stock that had overwintered successfully here in Ohio. A Carniolan that was also successfully laying was to be the queen. I have been thinking about splitting a couple of my hives maybe trying Mel Disselkoen's technique for creating queen cells. I think I will ask for my money back. Thanks for all your help guys.
 
#16 ·
They were supposed to be survivor stock that had overwintered successfully here in Ohio.
If they are 'survivor stock' that wintered, and not ready by now, you dont want them anyways. Even if they are a wintered 'survivor' unit, if they aren't ready to deliver at nuc size by this time of the season I would posit that bees that dont build up in the spring have no value.
 
#11 ·
Survivor nuc would have been ready at the end of winter. I can't think of a reason for survivor nucs not to be in full swing right now. Sounds like the nuc died and he is trying to make more nucs from a survivor queen. Possibly fine if he did that at the start of the season. Doesn't add up.
 
#13 ·
There could be several reasons the nucs are not ready yet. None that favor the buyer. If the nuc truly is not ready yet, and has not had resources pulled from it you don't want it.

It could be a good nuc but they have been pulling frames of brood from it to make up more nucs. There is no advantage to an overwintered queen ion mid-June.

I have packages from late March that have already filled a deep super.

I would be looking for a refund. If you already have a hive or two buy some queens and make your own nucs next month to overwinter.

Tom
 
#19 ·
Hey guys I have about 20 to 25 nucs not ready yet, do you think I should just chuck them into the creek? They are from my own bees and from queens grafted from my best bees, the last cells placed into the nucs on 5/23. I sell them very cheap and people who want my bees will wait for them and if they prefer southern packages or nucs thats also OK with me. I normally move them when they have 4 frames of brood and are very strong and it takes a little time for them to build up like that. Not quite like nucs I bought about 8 years ago which consisted of a bunch of bees with a queen in a cage and a frame with brood about the size of a quarter on both sides of a frame, so buyer beware.
Johno
 
#20 ·
Johno, I am making nucs like crazy myself, just 40 miles from you. They will be for personal use now, or for sale next year as overwintered nucs. I think there is a difference between a spring nuc promised in the spring but delivered in mid summer and a summer nuc that may get overwintered or sold as a summer nuc to someone who has no expectations of rapid growth. JMHO.

If you are going to pitch them all in a creek, let me know which one so I can get them before they all drown:)
 
#21 ·
Two years ago, I made up nucs in July and fed them vigorously. Most survived the winter, but swarmed early because I was really not ready for multiple overwintered colonies. (Still am not, it seems.) But summer nucs can be (are) good if you don't mind feeding them and are prepared for early spring management. I'm planning to graft/etc as my first learning experience in that direction. My nucs so far have been made from my colonies with purchased queens and purchased queen cells and the occasional standard split.

Our O.P.'s complaint seems real in that he was promised an overwintered queen/colony which, as many of the responses have pointed out, would reasonably have had multiple tens of pounds of honey in it by now. I'd think it appropriate for the vendor to supply the purchaser with 10 or 20 lbs of honey along with the late nuc IF the O.P.'s price was inflated for being an overwintered nuc. That "overwintered" issue is now as relevant as "newest model year car" the following June. If the vendor sells bulk honey at small $/lb, then it's not an onerous burden for him. If he sells his honey into the organic/raw/natural honey individual market, it's priced rather higher and he won't think it's good for him. But, "What price honor?" It's his own that he'd be supporting.

Just my thoughts. Michael
 
#23 ·
I am in mid-MD. Am making 8 nucs using both virgin queens as well as caged bought queens. A couple just made their own virgins after going queenless because of something stupid I did :( So, some are just getting started. Some have been going for a while. All are in single 5-frame nucs. I want to build six of them up to overwinter as two-story nucs. Two will be used to requeen a couple very strong 3 deeps. Question: should I be feeding them 1:1 as well as a patty? Is that normal to get nucs to build faster? I would be careful to feed 1:1 slowly so as not to get syrup-bound. I just want them to build up well before winter sets in. Last year I was very successful starting reverse splits, but that was in mid May and was with a mated queen with three frames of brood. Now it is mid-June with virgins or newly-introduced mated queens with a max of 2 frames of brood including capped but also wet brood of all sizes. What do you do regarding feeding to help insure build up?
 
#24 ·
Davemal, feed the nucs both syrup and pollen, dry or patties, until the nuc is up to size. Then stop the pollen and cut back on the syrup, allowing them to be without for a few days at a time. That should trigger the slowdown in egg laying you want going into the fall. I am in Richmond and plan on making splits into August with home grown queens. I have thirteen cells I am transfering on Wednesday and will start another 24 Saturday
 
#25 ·
Thanks for this. One more question. I have some excess bees in other colonies, and I would like to boost the population of nurse bees in my nucs. Some 5-nucs still have the caged queen being introduced. Some nucs (as of two days ago) had virgins. What is the best way to add nurse bees to a nuc? A month ago I caught a huge swarm. I had lots of extra bees. I placed a political sign against the entrance of two of my 5-frame queenright nucs. I raised the other end of the sign so the sign was level, then I shook a frame of bees onto the sign and they marched in. Two weeks later I noticed that both nucs were queenless! They have since raised themselves a new queen, but it appears allowing a bunch of swarm bees to march in might have caused the death of both queens. Regardless, should I spray a frame of nurse bees with sugar water, then smoke them, then smoke and spray the nuc before shaking the bees off of the frame and into the nuc? I want to add more nurse bees now. I know I could add a frame of brood which will emerge later, but I want to add more adult nurse bees now. Any thoughts?
 
#26 ·
The swarm bees that you combined earlier were foragers, not nurse bees. They literally took over the nuc and considered the existing queen an interloper. Nurse bees can be moved from hive to hive without much trouble. I have only needed to do it a few times but never had a problem moving a brood frame, along with attending nurse bees, to another hive. A puff or two of smoke won't hurt but is probably not necessary. I am a largely smoke free beekeeper so take that into consideration.
 
#27 ·
My first bee purchase was prepaid nucs, great price, paid in january. Promised delivery in April turned into july4.

Never again.

I dont think i could have gotten a refund, mentally wrote it off as loss, bought a nuc in june via craigs list. Much better than the prepaid nucs i finally got in july.

I hope to do better business wise, as ! Hobby be keeper than that first seller i dealt with.
Good luck. CE
 
#28 ·
Thanks, again. Now it all makes sense. That's the last time I do that! But can I just shake nurse bees into the nuc from a nurse-laden frame of brood? I do not have the room to add another frame and already have capped worker brood in the nuc. Can I just shake in some nurse bees either onto the top bars or run them in the front door? Getting burnt running in foragers has be gun shy about trying it again, but if the frame has only nurse bees on it, then I should like trying the run-in method again. Much fewer bees flying all around doing in that way as opposed to shaking them in on top of the top bars.
 
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