Langstroth Nuc With Iberian Bees

01 · WHAT IS INSIDE

Five frames, three of them brood

A nuc is not a handful of bees: it is three frames of brood — with eggs and larvae of every age, which is what guarantees a continuous relay — and two of stores with honey and pollen so the colony does not depend on there being a flow that week. The queen is mated and already laying. It is the fastest possible starting point: a populated hive in weeks, not months.

02 · THE FIRST DAY

Set it down and leave it alone

It arrives closed. Put it in its final position — not moved somewhere else two days later — ideally at dusk, open the entrance and do not touch it until the next day: the foragers have to reorient. By the following day they fly normally and you can look inside.

03 · FROM 5 TO 15 DAYS

And into a hive

Here is the mistake that ruins most nucs: leaving it in the box. A five-frame nuc with a queen in full lay runs out of room in a fortnight, and a colony with nowhere to go either swarms or stalls. The transfer is done between 5 and 15 days after collection, so you need the hive, frames with foundation and a feeder ready before you go and pick it up.

04 · IBERIAN BEE

The local one, with its virtues and its temper

It is Apis mellifera iberiensis, the bee of the peninsula: hardy, thrifty with stores and suited to dry summers and short flows. In exchange it is livelier in temperament than a textbook Carniolan — it works perfectly well with smoke and calm, but it is worth knowing if you are coming from another subspecies.

05 · HOW YOU COLLECT IT

By season, and on reservation

Nucs are sold on reservation and by season: there is a spring window, units are limited, and whoever books first picks the day. The normal route is collection at the shop in Xeresa, late on Fridays. Grouped deliveries elsewhere or home delivery do exist, but they depend on reaching a minimum order and are confirmed when each season opens — ask us before counting on them.

06 · BEFORE YOU BUY

These are live animals: the nuc travels with its health paperwork and you have to register it in your own apiary. Have the hive ready before you collect it.