Setting up nucs to make lots of honey

Putting mu nucs to work in the hope that the weather will allow enough flying time to bring in a big honey crop. Two nucs per stack to fill up the supers.

[@davidupton5252]

Thank you Pete very interesting video 5 ***** I take my hat off to you Pete very clever and knowledgeable.

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@johniac7078]

Great vid. I find this fascinating. Imagine that, bees from different colonies working communally in the super. I think we can learn a lot from these ladies. They never stop amazing me.

[@fishmut]

They definitely are not ladies , they are insects .

[@bc2578]

Yes, we can learn a lot from them, they protect the border of their colony from illegal alien species.

[@Yupmoose]

Brilliant combination! I would have never thought. Thank you for all these videos!

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

Glad you like them!

[@lambbrookfarm4528]

Good morning Pete, howdy from NH. Very timely video, as usual. I am new to Langstroth 5 frame nucs, but I made a couple queen cell splits and 1 has successfully mated and is doing great! I will be supering them today. Thanks for posting

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

Nice work!

[@erikbeesley5991]

What a wild year! The hive I requeened with the one queen I bought from you let her lay for 5 days, Killed her and drew supersedure cells off what she laid. Wild! Great vid!

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

It has been an agrivating year....at least you will have some of those genes passed on to the new queen.

[@Southfloridabeekeeperdiaries57]

Awesome video Pete! Very interesting way

[@framcesmoore]

Ha Peter I came back and watched this again. in this video you talked about the weather really messing up the queens U are so right Last years queens are just failing. it is like they have ran out of sperm. I have to say this is the first time I have seen it just so bad. My hives are living but haveing to combine them with the queen right hives. To early to get any or make any. I enjoyed watching this again hope u have a good week.

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

Thanks! You too.

[@masoudmon3411]

I like you video a lot Really fun to watch

[@blackberry5908]

If you try this again this year could you make a video about it ? Looks interesting

[@richardhyatt-beekeeping]

Not sure what the advantage would be over a double deep hive. Are you thinking two queens make more bees quicker? It takes 21 days for a nurse bee to emerge. Wouldn't the flow be over before they become foragers? Very interesting method of beekeeping for sure.

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

The aim is to restrict the queen so she is kind of saved for next year...in the mean time the output of two can be combined to generate honey production as it will have a low brood to field bee ratio which means more foragers to make honey

[@richardhyatt-beekeeping]

@@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer Quite fascinating. Thanks.

[@joycefiddes1791]

Love it!

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

So glad!

[@tooldiebum]

Hi Peter I enjoy watching your videos I’m seeing the same things in Michigan it’s nice to keep up and compare hives what do you do with shb ✌️

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

Kill them when I see them! Occasionally beetle traps.

[@brianboe3774]

You stole my colors….hahaha

[@anthonymauceri8919]

Is that how it’s over winter too?

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

No its is nearer to the reverse of this. I have donbe videos a couple of years ago about that but more coming in the Fall.

[@framcesmoore]

Ha Peter that is a great idea. It will not work for 8 frame boxes will it. Hope u make a lot of honey. Have a blessed week.

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

Sure it would but you would need bigger shims to weather proof the tops of the brood chamber nucs.

[@philprochaska9926]

You can do a triple 5 frame nuc and then add two excluders and 2 honey supers

[@framcesmoore]

@@philprochaska9926 ha wow thanks

[@framcesmoore]

@@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer Thanks Peter

[@tsensenig8045]

thinking out of the box!

[@BrianJohnson-ih1hb]

Question what about the small gap on the sides of the nuk boxes that the super did not cover?

[@zoranvidakovic7875]

Hello Pete.. I see every time you stack nuc’s before the honey flow..you leave planty of space for queen to lay eggs.. Does that not “decrease” the honey yield..? Tnx for good video’s

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

Not in the longer term. Any honey stored in the brood chamber will be moved up as the queen needs more room to lay.

[@tommullarkey7372]

Great video - Would a betterbee double nuc (4 frames on each side) work or is 4 frames not enough space for the queen to lay eggs? the double nucs have a second level that can be added so it could become 8 x 8 frame double nucs. is 4 frames is enough room or am i asking for a swarm. thanks

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

a double hieght 4x4 would work great.

[@PotomacBee]

What is the chance of swarming in this hive configuration?

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

All depends upon timing. If timed right as the flow really gets going there is almost no swarming.

[@davidsoloninka7742]

Why is it that two queens/ 2 nuc's working together produce so much honey so quickly? Thank you.

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

All about the ration of feild bees to nurse bees

[@tsensenig8045]

Would this work with 2 8-frame brood boxes as the base, even 2 high for brood, then 3 nuc boxes (and on up) as honey supers? My concern is supers too heavy for me to lift.

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

Yes I would think so. WE beekeepers need to be inventive! You may need some duct tape to keep all the cracks seeled.

[@davidupton5252]

How long is it before they stop fighting and live with each other in harmony? Were these related to each other through splits how long have they been split for? You are not going to do this for to long as the nucs will lose there room due to full of brood or are you only using this method as a temporary measure due to the honey flow? It's a very very good system splitting and not losing the honey harvest either quite ingenuous im surprised I did not come up with that myself lol

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

There is no fighting done during a honeyflow. Hives need not be related. I usually keep these hive like this and then separate in the Fall to overwinter as nucs.

[@SylantBill]

What is the advantage if 2 nucs vs 1 single deep? Wouldn't the volume of bees be the same?

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

Its a matter of what is available and when. By the time these built up to a single deep full the flow might be over.

[@SylantBill]

@@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer ok makes sense. Thanks for the reply

[@dariocavegn4052]

Given your experience with moving brood above the queen excluder, do you think the following could work: - Start the year with a single brood box (Estonian frame, adapted so I can use it with a Langstroth box) - Extend the brood space downward with a second box (Langstroth) - Once both boxes are busy, make sure the queen is in the lower box and then split the hive with a queen excluder - Possibly prevent swarming by extending brood space downwards yet again (Langstroth) I'm asking this one because I'm trying to come up with a way of moving a hive currently on the Estonian standard frame (picture a German frame sideways) onto Langstroth equipment. If this could work out, I'd have the hive on Langstroth frames by the end of the year, and phase out the Estonian frames with the honey harvest. Insane? Or possible?

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

Sounds like it would work. A faster more labor intensive way would be to cut out the comb from the Estonian frames , cut to size and put into Langstroth frames with rubber bands /sting. In a few weeks you would not even see the joins as they fixed up the frames.....(do this in the Spring not Fall) would be tricky if you use plastic foundation.

[@inharmonywithearth9982]

They have always claimed the caucasian honeybee can make excellent honey crops from Red Clover do you believe that? Called the Red Clover honeybee. It's supposed to be the one with the very longest nectar suction tubes and gentlest of all but likes gathering propolis and gumming up the hives. Have you ever bought any of those deep black caucasian queens?

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

Not yet but maybe I should try a few.

[@timbervalleyhomestead]

I never thought to put two nucs side by side with a super on top! This is has me shaking my head in disbelief. This changes things a lot.

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

It is an eye opener, so many options once you understand what they will do.

[@timbervalleyhomestead]

@@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer thanks so much for this video

[@demk818]

Won’t the other bees kill the other hive queen?

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

No

[@PCBrew]

You missed a queen cell on the frame that had a bunch of queen cells on it.

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

That would not surprise me!

[@moniquemaul-uv8sq]

It was the green nuc with the the light green entry

[@anthonymauceri8919]

Can you over winter just a single nuc hive with 5 fame of honey on top?

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

Yes watch videos this Fall!

[@bc2578]

No need for 5 frames of honey over a nuc, you can Mountain Camp them for the Winter....

[@jimwaldele9084]

hello there, thank you you have taught me much,, my question, on ther 1st 2 nucs you made then put honey deep super on then you said in about 1 week you may need to ad another super, my question is, the nucs themselves how often do you need to pull broad or add a 2nd box to the queen nuc for space so she dont want to swarm in only a 5 fram,, thank you again,, jim

[@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer]

depends upon timing. If done way before the honeyflow they would swarm. If done just as it really gets going they don't often swarm, but still good to check as weather can mess that generalization up. Taking out brood then would help.