Location:
Burlington, MA
US source for mini plus mating nuc
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10
I know it's been asked before. Is there a known source for mini plus nucs? I do know of one. But I'm trying to exhaust all avenues for best deal. As it will be very compatible with my 6 frame Dadant nucs, I must do my homework.
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I got the Lyson mini plus units from ApiHex in Calgary a few years back, dont see them in the catalog there anymore. I do see them at BetterBee.
the first time I saw them was at Apimondia in Montreal, thought they looked really slick, 6 frames for wintering small units, use the divider to mate queens in both sides on 3 frames. I found over the first season using them that way, bees tended to migrate to one side or the other, never had much success doing 2 queens in each. Second season I just used them as single units with 6 frames, they worked well that way, and colonies wintered well in them.
My biggest gripe with them, the frames turned out to be quite fragile, come apart at the joints easily.
the first time I saw them was at Apimondia in Montreal, thought they looked really slick, 6 frames for wintering small units, use the divider to mate queens in both sides on 3 frames. I found over the first season using them that way, bees tended to migrate to one side or the other, never had much success doing 2 queens in each. Second season I just used them as single units with 6 frames, they worked well that way, and colonies wintered well in them.
My biggest gripe with them, the frames turned out to be quite fragile, come apart at the joints easily.
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I made mini mating nucs out of 1/2" plywood using the Dcoates box pattern. Not that there is a pattern out there for it that I know of, just cut them down to size. Used standard deep frames cut in half.
Work pretty good.
At first I was putting two of the half frames together, putting them into 10 frame hives to get the comb drawn out. Then figured out to just use drawn comb from the many cut outs I do, sure did speed things up.
Have not used them in several years and have a dozen new ones in the garage.
Work pretty good.
At first I was putting two of the half frames together, putting them into 10 frame hives to get the comb drawn out. Then figured out to just use drawn comb from the many cut outs I do, sure did speed things up.
Have not used them in several years and have a dozen new ones in the garage.
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889 Posts
Mini plus nucs, for those who don't know: The Mini-Plus Mating Nuc Explained - YouTube They are used throughout Europe and beyond. I find it hard to believe that such a popular nuc in the EU hasn't made it way to the US by now.
Yes. Betterbee does sell the Lyson version of the mini plus. They are the exact same dimensions but they are not interchangeable as the grooves for stacking do not line up. So if I choose the Lyson version I am committed to it and its price. I'm in no hurry. If you watch the link above you can see that the mini plus nucs sit perfectly on top of 6 frame dadant deep nucs (11 1/4" frames or dadant-blatt). You can see the whole system in action.
Yes. Betterbee does sell the Lyson version of the mini plus. They are the exact same dimensions but they are not interchangeable as the grooves for stacking do not line up. So if I choose the Lyson version I am committed to it and its price. I'm in no hurry. If you watch the link above you can see that the mini plus nucs sit perfectly on top of 6 frame dadant deep nucs (11 1/4" frames or dadant-blatt). You can see the whole system in action.
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12,034 Posts
Old subject.
Need to open up a bit and see what others are doing.
There are a lot of happenings (slowed by the war, too bad - but it will pick up right back).
Half-Dadant frames. Unsure of the manufacturer, but there are many.
Guy winters up to a hundred of minis (just lost 5 per the video; but not a catastrophy).
(1168) Пошли минуса - YouTube H
Im planning to use the mann lake grow out boxes this year. Gonna stack them up over a swarm in a 5 frame nuc to let them build out. hope to use them to mate queens in smaller boxes then use those queens in my splits/requeening and recombine all the mating nuc frames and winter them in stacks. Richard winters them stacked up 4-6 boxes tall.
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I'm also using the 10 half frame grow boxes along with their double mating nucs. I just put 2 of the grow boxes with drawn empty frames on one of my 10 frame hives that is busting at the seams. Hope to get the queen to move up into them to lay her next round of brood here in coastal VA so I can pull them off to populate the mating nucs by early March.
I'm overwintering single colonies in these stacked grow boxes that are separated with a double screen. So far, so good. One modification I will make in the next round of grow boxes I make this spring are to make them 8 half frames so two of them fit on my 8 frame equipment. I have more colonies in the 8 frame than the 10. Although it also works well to stack them up and have a bunch of mini frames too.
Im building a couple quads out of medium supers to have 4 chambers in each box to go along with the 3 mann lake double nucs. this way i can pull the divider out and stack the grow outs on that and have 2 colonies side by side to winter like a mini resource hive.
I know folks in a climate similar to yours that winter medium quads as medium quads. Southeast BC in Grand Forks, they get about 80% survival on average wintering them that way.
Im all the way down in south Mississippi. Our bees are never broodless i would have to supplemental feed all winter for a colony that small to make it.
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