David Evans (The Apiarist) – The Nucleus Option

This talk covers choosing and using nucleus hives. I discuss what to look for when purchasing poly nucs and how to prepare them for use. There are a myriad of uses for nucs and I cover the preparation of a nucleus colony, moving (or not moving) it to another apiary, circle splits and the importance of a balanced population of bees, using nucs for swarm control, queen mating and queen rearing, feeding bees in nucs (and feeders), overwintering nucs and selling nucleus colonies.