I made several 5-frame deep nucs early spring here in mid-MD. Taken from overwintered colonies, they all made their own queens, are now in double 5-frame deep nucs and are very strong. I have used them as resource hives - taking a couple frames of brood from each these past couple months, but they continue to grow. My goal is to over winter them as double nucs. So, today I moved one of them into a 6x6 space in a double deep - adding a 6th frame of comb top and bottom to give them more room. I then flanked the 6 frames with double-deep height follower boards and double deep height 2" foam insulation. I am not sure if this was a good idea, as in order to separate the boxes, I need to withdraw the two extra tall follower boards as well as the two extra tall panels of insulation before I do. But if I had made separate follower boards and insulation panels (4 or each) for both top and bottom, would that not have defeated the purpose of the follower boards and insulation given the resultant gaps that there would be for both in between the two boxes? I am a little confused about that part. Can you give me some advice on using double deeps with follower boards and insulation board to house two-story nucs for the winter? Pics attached. Thanks!
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