NUC Usage and Priority

[Hillbillenigma]

I've been reading several BeeKeeping books (in prep for starting in the Spring) and a couple of Catalogs.  Though I have run across many references to NUCs and lots of photos I still don't have a clear understanding of what they are used for and how important are they to a NewBee keeper? 

Thanks in advance. 

[Brian D. Bray]

I've been reading several BeeKeeping books (in prep for starting in the Spring) and a couple of Catalogs.  Though I have run across many references to NUCs and lots of photos I still don't have a clear understanding of what they are used for and how important are they to a NewBee keeper? 

Thanks in advance. 

Think of nucs as a starter hive or nursery.  It is half as wide as a conventional hive so the bees can make better use of space and less time on guarding the entrance or warming a part of the hive they're not using.  The utilization of space is such that it is better to overwinter a small hive in a 2 tier nuc than a single story 10 frame hive.  The bees will use energy keeping the nucs warm, less likely to be caught away from the cluster fetching stores during wqarmer periods of winter, and can survive in a smaller cluster; all things that use less energy and, hence, makes the best use of supplies on hand. 

Nucs are great for splitting hives for the same reasons and are a more manageable size. 

[Hillbillenigma]

Thanks Brian, that helps alot.