# Wintering Nucs in Duplex Hives in Northern Climates



## Fusion_power (Jan 14, 2005)

There are several beekeepers today running nucs as part of their operation where the yearly cycle involves producing queens and nucs which are then overwintered and used for various purposes the following spring. Kirk Webster is one such and Michael Palmer another. It is an excellent management plan that should be used by more beekeepers.

I was digging around in some old gleanings articles and stumbled on an early description of this process in the August 1977 Gleanings in Bee Culture titled as per this thread title. It was interesting to see how the writer, Harry J. Morris of NY, used a deep brood chamber with a center divider nearly identical to designs that are used today.

What he did not describe was an overall nuc based colony management system. His article was mostly along the lines of building and overwintering nucs in a cold climate.

DarJones


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

Yep, and the more I look the more references I find to beekeepers who wintered nucleus colonies. Always mentioned as if in passing. Never much on details or wisdom of the management...and not much to inspire folks to try. Maybe no need back in the 1970s. Bees were cheap and healthy.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Brother Adam was doing it in England back in the 50s and 60s, and maybe further back.


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## Maine_Beekeeper (Mar 19, 2006)

Overwintering nucs is fun and a great way to improve sustainability in your beekeeping. 
http://overlandhoney.com/general/getting-ready-for-winter/


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## mnflemish (Jun 7, 2010)

What is the best method for the bottom board for a duplex, have an entrance in back and front or both at one end? 
Carol


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## crofter (May 5, 2011)

Five over five has wintered well for me and certainly 3 high five frame nucs do well but I think that is more stores than necessary and not many more bees come spring. 
I am going to try four, 4 framed deep nucs on divided 10 frame deeps. That will be 4 queens on two standard 10 frame boxes and bottoms. That will be fewer frames per nuc., but lots of shared heat. Just need to do the handholds and turn them over to my resident hive painter.


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## johnbeejohn (Jun 30, 2013)

I over winter3d 8 or so double nucs 4x4 and wow they get to work quickly really amazed me how much they can do compared to my doubles


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

Trying these 6 framers this year.
I winter indoors, so a bit off topic for you.


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## zhiv9 (Aug 3, 2012)

Ian said:


> Trying these 6 framers this year.
> I winter indoors, so a bit off topic for you.


Ian, did you make them or buy them? Why such a deep bottom board? - ventilation?


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## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

Started running duplex last fall out of necessity. I sold queens out of two nucs so I stuck the nucs on top of another hive. Separated with newspaper. The bees had other plans. They made voo-coo queen cells so real quick I made two duplex hives out of deeps. Split it 4 ways. Let the queens mate and went into winter with 4 instead if 1. I added second layers to them. (4 more nuc boxes)

Was expecting it all to die but no...they wintered 100%. So in the spring I add 4 more nucs to get each colony up to 12 frames. Popped em into full-size equipment and man they took off. Now I got four double deeps of bees and they all had to be split. 

So me trying to combine turned into 8 hives? Funny how it can back-fire in such a nice way when you do the work. Them duplex hives ROCK! Can winter twice the # of queens on the same amount of honey.


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## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

Last winter was my first with them. I did 5/5 and 5/5/5 they did well. Will be doing many more this summer and have many more going into winter. I don't have any in shared boxes at the moment, just stand alone 5 framers that I pushed up against each other.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

zhiv9 said:


> Ian, did you make them or buy them? Why such a deep bottom board? - ventilation?


It's a unique design from
The supplier, sloped bottom board


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## DrJeseuss (May 28, 2015)

This past winter was my first try at doubles. I had two 4x4 together, the a full-size with dividers to make a 6x6. I fed these right up to the cold. They took a lot, but didn't get it capped. The doubles died late winter, moisture I believe. The 6x6 was on a SBB and came into spring booming. I like solid bottoms but need to address the moisture for my next try. I plan to add some quilts to soak it up while keeping in heat.


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## camero7 (Sep 21, 2009)

That's why I use a small upper entrance on all my hives. Never seem to have a moisture problem.


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## Fusion_power (Jan 14, 2005)

> I fed these right up to the cold.


Bees will take syrup just about as long as they can move. If you keep giving it until cold weather, the bees will age prematurely and will have life spans similar to summer bees. The end result is a colony that dies out sometime in February or March. Try giving them just enough to get through winter and then start feeding as early as possible in the spring. I've fed a gallon of syrup in the fall to a light colony which gives just enough to get through the worst of winter. Sealed stored honey is preferable to syrup so another alternative is to keep some honey to use as feed.


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## My-smokepole (Apr 14, 2008)

I made up some shims for candy boards with a vent hole. I don't like holes in my boxes.


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## mnflemish (Jun 7, 2010)

Last winter was the first for me to try the duplex system. I did two duplexes and one of the boxes both sides were packed with bees and the other box was more lean. I was thinking the colonies that was packed would run out of food and die but it ended up the opposite. The box with a fair amount of bees that was not packed is the one that died. I am up near Lake Superior, Minnesota and have harsh winters. I put both entrances to the front with a reducer hole on each far side of the side. I didn't want the entrance to have one facing the north. For those of you in areas below zero in the winter, where have you had the entrances? On one end or one on each end. I'm really wondering about the entrances as I only did this last year and what are you seasoned duplex folks doing that is working?


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