Langstroth Nucs

What a nuc is actually for

A nuc is not a small hive: it is a management tool with four uses that recur all season.

• Making artificial swarms — you take brood frames and bees from a strong colony before it swarms on its own.
• Collecting a swarm — it is the box you carry in the car.
• Mating and testing queens before putting them into production.
• Holding a weak colony that could not warm a full hive.

The frame is the same

A Langstroth nuc takes exactly the same frame as a Langstroth hive. That is why this category is organised by format and not by brand: you can move frames between nuc and hive without cutting anything, and that is the whole point of the system. Before buying, check which format you run — a nuc in the wrong format is of no use at all.

HDF, polypropylene or wood

• HDF — cheapest and lightest, for transport and selling swarms. Not overwintering material.
• Polypropylene — insulates better, washes and stands years outdoors.
• Wood — the one that stays in the apiary all season; it breathes better and can be repaired.

It is the most widespread format in the world and the one with the most spares: NICOT floors, Quarti® and Paradise® entrances, replacement lids, roof feeders. A Langstroth nuc can be completed with parts from several brands without trouble.

Live material is in nucs and swarms, and complete hives in Langstroth hives.