Nucs vs.Packages
Whether you’re just starting out in beekeeping or you simply need more (or new!) bees, two practical purchasing options exist.
ARTICLE & PHOTOS BY DANIEL JOHNSON
When you receive a package of bees, the queen is in her own small cage attached to the inside of the package.
NUC OPTIONS
Would you like to try making your own nucs? You can use them for a variety of purposes, including splits to help discourage summertime swarms and for housing small hives with a backup queen that you can use in case of the sudden death of one of your prime queens. Sometimes nuc boxes are also used as swarm collectors.
In the book The Fields of Home, author Ralph Moody describes how his grandfather recaptured a lost colony of bees on their Maine farm around 100 years ago using nothing but a smoker, a net, a ladder and some old-fashioned American ingenuity. But Grandfather was an expert beekeeper.
If you’re just getting into beekeeping and you lack a mentor who can provide you with an already thriving hive, you’ll need to obtain your colonies on your own from an outside source. Or maybe you’re looking to expand your current beekeeping operation by experimenting with a new bee breed. And while the idea of rambling through the Maine woods to capture a swarm might seem picturesque, it’s not quite practical for the beginner today.
A simpler — and safer! — method is to purchase bees from a reputable source. You’ll need to supply the hive supers and other essential beekeeping gear, but in some cases, the bees themselves can be shipped directly to your doorstep. Let’s take a closer look at how this is done and help you determine the method that is right for your situation.