# corrugated plastic nucs?



## Birdman (May 8, 2009)

Does anyone use them to start package's in?


----------



## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

Hi Birdman,
Why would you want to start in a nuc, instead of a hive body? I'm sure its possible but they would be very crowded, & might abscond.


----------



## Birdman (May 8, 2009)

Just thinking. Thought I would get some input. Price mainly.


----------



## ccar2000 (Aug 9, 2009)

I have not tried this and I am no expert either. 
In my opinion a nuc is a transitional hive for various purposes. Typically housing just a couple of frames of bees and enough personal stores for them to live on. They need to have drawn out frames for them from the begining or they might just leave. Once they fill up the nuc then what? You cannot expand a corrugated plastic nuc. Would you move them in to a wooden nuc or hive? If you are thinking small you could start with a wooden nuc or 8-frame equipment and have the ability to expand using standardized equipment. A five frame hive would likely get really tall really fast I think. 
Those are a couple of thoughts anyways. Good luck!


----------



## Birdman (May 8, 2009)

move them once they had built up.


----------



## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

Has anyone used them for swarm traps?


----------



## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Package starting? Sure, why not? I haven't but don't see why you shouldn't. Just keep an eye on them. How would you feed them, if you wanted to?

I have used them to make splits in. There's plenty of room above the top bars to lay the caged queen on and close the lid. It worked well.


----------



## Grant (Jun 12, 2004)

sqkcrk said:


> How would you feed them, if you wanted to?


I'm quite familiar with these plastic nuc boxes. They're a great asset to our industry. They'd work well for starting packages...kind of like starting nucs with queen cells. Once established, easy to move to another location and transfer to a 10-frame hive.

Some of mine have been modified. I took a 3" hole saw (fits an electric drill, available at any home improvement store or hardware store) and cut out a circle in the lid. I used duct tape to secure a square of 8-mesh wire over the circle. Fits inverted quart jars for feeding.

Ventilation is also an issue with these nuc boxes. These holes work really great for allowing moisture to escape without unduly chilling the hive.

They tend to be light weight so my plastic nuc boxes are secured with two bricks on the top.

Grant
Jackson, MO


----------



## ccar2000 (Aug 9, 2009)

So, do you start them on foundation? or what are the odds that they would abscond and find another location?


----------



## Grant (Jun 12, 2004)

If you are establishing a package, I assume you were going to start them out on foundation. If you were going to install a package on drawn comb (like from a dead-out), so much the better.

You have to remember that with a package, you have about a week for the queen to be released from her queen cage. She needs time to settle down before she starts laying eggs which will take three weeks to emerge as adults. You're already four weeks down the line before the new generation starts to join the family.

In the mean time you are feeding the package bees and as the field bees are foraging, they are also dying. The population is dwindling due to the attrition of old bees. In these first four weeks, there is a zero chance of them absconding, and a very small chance of them swarming due to congestion and over crowding, even with the frames of drawn comb.

With this being said, there are a lot of variables. For my money, I'd begin thinking of moving them into a regular, 10-frame brood box once the queen is out and laying eggs. 

Grant
Jackson, MO


----------



## Birdman (May 8, 2009)

I was thinking of a division board feeder with foundation. Just till the queen was laying good. Then I would move them to a 10 frane deep. It was a thought thats was bounceing around. just wanted to make you all think about it to.


----------



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>Has anyone used them for swarm traps?

I've had two different kinds. One was stiff plastic and you could only fit four frames in it but it had nice carrying handles and there were other space issues, which I don't remember off the top of my head. The other was from MDA and was more flexible, so it bulged easily, but the spacing was correct. I've used both for swarm traps. Seems like I never caught any in the stiff one, but I would guess that was just random chance. I caught some in a couple of the MDA ones. Neither stood up well in the weather in the long run, but did last several years and that was a lot longer than the wax coated cardboard ones.


----------



## Birdman (May 8, 2009)

The one's I have came from kelly. They hold five frames.


----------



## kilocharlie (Dec 27, 2010)

I'm building full-sized Langstroth hives with short ends slotted for divider boards. The slots are shallower (about 3/16" deep x 1/4" wide) than the frame hangar shelves, run vertically, and there are three of them. These boxes can be utilized as three 3-frame mating boxes when used with two division boards, two 5-frame nucs when used with one board in the center slot, or as a standard 10-frame hive body. The only drawback is the need for a cleat instead of a pocket handle. The cleat adds stiffness, preventing the short ends from curving.

The nuc arrangements help share heat between the colonies. My next project is a hive top feeder that keeps the colonies separate in any of these arrangements. I use the Coroplast for insulation wrap and hive roof covers. There is a guy near me that uses homemade coroplast and cardboard nucs, with vent holes and screen duct taped to them. If I need some quick and cheap - I may give them a try. Political signs made of coroplast just found an actual use!


----------

