[e-spice]

I'm a new beekeeper and have a couple of new hives that are doing well. These were started from a couple of three pound packages about a month ago. Both have filled one medium 8-frame super and have started working on second supers.

My wife just bought me a 5 frame nuc box (2 supers) as a birthday gift. Initially I thought I wouldn't be able to use it this year but I've enjoyed working with the bees so much I started trying to think of ways I could make a third colony. I would love to have a nuc going in to winter. Any suggestions on how to do this? Maybe doing a split? If that wouldn't be a good thing to do I can wait until next year. Thanks for any suggestions or info!

 

[cg3]

Get yourself on your local swarm list.

 

[Bees In Miami]

I would not suggest trying to do splits in the first year of a package. You want two strong hives, not 3 weak ones. I agree with the prior poster...catch a swarm or two. Two medium 8 frames are not strong colonies.

 

[burns375]

If you buy a queen its possible, but they will be week, 1 medium is not much... making a queen definately no.

I would get them thru winter then split in spring.

 

[e-spice]

If you buy a queen its possible, but they will be week, 1 medium is not much... making a queen definately no.

I would get them thru winter then split in spring.

Well that is definitely the consensus so far. I've learned a lot here and trust (and appreciate) everyone's opinion. I'll either buy some bees to put in the box or wait until next spring to do a split. Thanks everybody!

 

[drlonzo]

I'm a new beekeeper and have a couple of new hives that are doing well. These were started from a couple of three pound packages about a month ago. Both have filled one medium 8-frame super and have started working on second supers.

My wife just bought me a 5 frame nuc box (2 supers) as a birthday gift. Initially I thought I wouldn't be able to use it this year but I've enjoyed working with the bees so much I started trying to think of ways I could make a third colony. I would love to have a nuc going in to winter. Any suggestions on how to do this? Maybe doing a split? If that wouldn't be a good thing to do I can wait until next year. Thanks for any suggestions or info!

If you have two healthy hives that have been started from packages or other already in their second deep brood body it is TOTALY possible to start a NUC. It only requires a few frames of bees/brood/eggs.

So here's what you do.

1. Pick your strongest hive and remove from it a drawn frame of brood and bees with eggs, try to make sure there is also pollen and honey on the frame. If you want a strong nuc, take a second with emerging or capped only brood and bees.
2. Go to your secondary hive and remove from it a drawn frame of brood and bees mostly capped. Again if you want a strong nuc, take a second frame with younger larva that's too old to turn into queens.
3. Place all these frames and a Foundation frame to make out 5 frames into your NUC box with a boardman feeder and plenty of sugar water.
4. Mark the date down on the calendar and wait 8 days and check your NUC for Queen Cells. There should be several. Close back up after verification for 2 weeks.
5. Watch hive and make sure they don't get robbed out. Check hive for queen as planned.

You don't have to use tons of resources to make a queen or a NUC for that matter. I've made 12 NUC's from 10 package bee hives this year already and they are ALL strong.

 

[sterling]

You can start a nuc in Tn. with two med frames of brood this time of the year if you give them a laying queen and they will build up good enough before winter. But the packages need to be stronger then one eight frame medium before you take bees and brood out. I started two 3# packages late March just to make nucs with but they have built to two deeps each.
Since you are in Knoxville get in touch with Tess Arnold and buy two or three frames of brood and a laying queen to put in your nuc. They should build up good.