[Broke-T]

This winter I plan to build several mating nucs. They will be double three framers to hold regular medium frames. I have three hives going this year that are all mediums to split up into the nucs.

My question is whether to screen the bottoms? My 5 frame deep nucs all have screen bottoms but have plastic signs cut to slide in them when I place queen cells. Remove after queen is mated.

Do yall think screen bottoms will be a problem for returning queens to go under hive and not in entrance? With our heat and humidity I think I need the ventilation, and opening and closing bottom is aggrivating.

Thanks, Johnny

 

[BerkeyDavid]

Sounds like a good idea to me. The queen should orient herself to the hive before she goes out and mates and should return to the entrance that she left from. You don't even need a landing board. My 2 frame medium mating nucs just have a hole drilled in them for an entrance, so that should work fine.

 

[Michael Bush]

A mating nuc (or any nuc) has enough trouble regulating heat. A SBB that has a lot of area in relation to the voumne of the hive makes it harder to regulate the heat as it interferes with the evaporative cooling. I would not do it unless you have some kind of trays to fill the space...

 

[Broke-T]

Michael, staying warm not usually a problem here in central Mississippi except first round in early april. Everyone here tells me you can't raise queens thru the summer because it gets to hot, but those guys are using baby nucs. I wan't to try with bigger nucs and screened bottoms to see if it will work.

Thanks, Johnny

 

[Michael Bush]

I still say too much ventilation makes it impossible for the bees to cool it...

 

[Broke-T]

So you think they can keep it cooler if I have entrance hole at one end and screened ventilation hole at other end.

What size holes would you recomend?

Johnny

 

[Michael Bush]

>So you think they can keep it cooler if I have entrance hole at one end and screened ventilation hole at other end.

Maybe. But I'd just put one hole in. If you really want one then put them top at one end and bottom at the other.

>What size holes would you recomend?

My biggest issue with mating nucs is robbing, so I use very small entrances. I also prefer to put them in the shade (as oppposed to my honey producers that I prefer to put in the sun) but some end up in the sun. The entrances vary but most are a 1" hole in a two frame medium depth nuc.

 

[AmericasBeekeeper]

David Miksa tried sbb. He had too many queens flying up under the hive and waiting there with a cluster of bees, never returning to lay. David's current hive configuration has a solid board under the screen without any opening. Bees and wind cannot get through the screen. Miksas sell thousands of queens and queen cells if you are not familiar with them.

 

[scdw43]

I use 10 frame deep langs divided with a feeder for my mating nucs. We have had temps in the mid 90's for two weeks and high 80's for the three weeks prior. With lows at night in the low 80's. I have not worried since the middle April about temps in my SBB mating nucs. I have been worried about overheating in the middle of the day. They are building up fine and all the queens have got mated and laying in 17 to 18 days after inserting the cells. These are 4 frame nucs with bees to cover 3 drawn frames and one frame of foundation. It does not take much in my climate to keep bees warm this time of year and you are 500 miles south of me. I will have to watch them to keep them from swarming if they get too strong. I will take bees and brood from them to give to another hive are make more nucs.