2 Frame Mini Mating Nuc

[@markking8991]

Thanks for the great video! This looks like the easiest way to make queens

[@BigLBeefBeesBirdsnBahs]

Really like the presentation of materials and detailed description of the cuts. Liked and followed😊

[@backyardbeekeeperguy9934]

Thanks for sharing! I've built these in the past and they work well! I plan to build more of these and enjoy seeing how others are building them. 👍

[@timbervalleyhomestead]

I’m looking to make mine out of just anything scrap I have laying around from adding on to my house. This was a great video. I have old Osb/particle board we replaced flooring with sooo that’s where I’m at. I’m hoping to make at least 2 or 3 but after this video considering I don’t have that much wood I may only have 2 usable nucs from the wood I have on hand but still more than I had beginning. Thank you for the video! It helps me see a visual representation of what I want to do.

[@libertybellbeekeepers]

I'm glad it was helpful. Good luck!

[@strugglingbeekeepermarkcot9642]

Looks good buddy thanks for sharing. I like making my own stuff to put my bees in. I hope you have a good year with your bees.

[@libertybellbeekeepers]

Material prices are getting out of hand. Almost $50 for 3/4 ply? Sanded ply is $60. Its going to keep going also until we get rolling full steam. Hope thats soon... Thank you, looking forward to a good year. Best wished to you as well.

[@thuffman44]

Nice! Very helpful. Thanks for sharing! 🐝🐝🐝

[@boonesbees5485]

I will be trying a few of these this year. I'm in rugged rocky terrain so it might be a benefit.

[@libertybellbeekeepers]

Why would the terrain have an impact?

[@boonesbees5485]

@@libertybellbeekeepers I'm like on a mountainous rocky hillside in the hill country of Central Texas, steep inclined cactus and rock so anything that's light and less cumbersome helps keeps me nimble.

[@libertybellbeekeepers]

@@boonesbees5485 mkes sense. Thats why I keep most of mine in 5 frame setups on the roof. So much easier to manage.

[@faroukchaabna8144]

Thanks man 👍

[@TheMeyerWay]

I seen a guy build 2 of these out of a 1x12x8 so shouldn’t you be able to get 8 of these boxes out of a sheet of plywood?

[@libertybellbeekeepers]

I suppose its possible, but at the time I didn't see a way to do it. It might involve cutting the sheet differently than I did, to maximize the material, and there's probably some program that could figure it out, but I didn't go that far. I applied the same cut pattern as the nucs to these. Plywood at the time, was $35 a sheet also. So a little waste wasn't the same as today when they're $75 a sheet.

[@jimhendrix7776]

3/4" or 1/2" plywood?

[@libertybellbeekeepers]

They are 3/4.

[@MichaelDobbins]

Technically speaking: These are not mini nucs. A mini nuc uses half length frames. A mating nuc is one used with emerging queen cells or virgin queens to take them through the mating process to beginning of laying eggs. Then they are harvested, sold or used to create or fix other nucs/hives. In a large commercial operation these are often mini nucs with the minimum amount of brood and bees to support the queen through the mating process. But can be anything (see Sam Comfort) You are building 2 frame deep nucs. They can be used as mating nucs (as described above) but more often are used to hold the queen longer building out a small nuc that is a bit more general purpose. In addition to harvesting and selling queens, frames/queens can be pulled to bolster failing hives or split to raise more queens, etc. This arrangement is more flexible and more forgiving than using mini nucs, especially no special purpose frames to manage. I love these small nucs. Since I only use medium frames, a 3 frame medium would be the same comb space as a 2 frame deep. Since I run 8 frame medium hives, I made 4 frame medium nucs to be able to place 2 nucs side by side over a single hive footprint. It works great for me, very forgiving and easy. They are between 2 and 3 deep frames in comb space, so not too big to use for mating and raising queens, as well as large enough to let them grow out a bit more. A side by side configuration is stable enough that I can stack 4 frame boxes on top each nuc. I have one pair that I didn't have enough equipment to move them, they are over wintering in a side by side 4 box deep configuration.

[@libertybellbeekeepers]

Those true mini mating nucs, look ridicukous to me. A completely sepreate set of equipment, that csnt be used in anything else. Thats why I like these for queen rearing and small splits. The deep feames can go to any box I have. I know the nomenclature is wrong, but that doesn't bother me. Thanks Michael. Good info.

[@MichaelDobbins]

@@libertybellbeekeepers I am with you all the way about large scale specialized commercial beekeeping equipment. "I know the nomenclature is wrong" spreading confusion eh. ;)