Overwintering NUCS in the north

[skflyfish]

Robo,

I have one question, please. How many frames of bees do you have in a strong nuc at the first of October?

Thx,

Jay

[Robo]

Robo,

I have one question, please. How many frames of bees do you have in a strong nuc at the first of October?

Thx,

Jay

4+

[skflyfish]

Thank you sir.

Robo,

I have one question, please. How many frames of bees do you have in a strong nuc at the first of October?

Thx,

Jay

4+

[Brian D. Bray]

If I make one that late I use 8 frames because I'm using 2 medium depth boxes.

[skflyfish]

Found a plan for making styrene nucs.

Jay

Styrene nuc plans

[T Beek]

Good find, thanks for sharing.

thomas

[Finski]

Found a plan for making styrene nucs.

Jay

Styrene nuc plans

My experience is that those hives are wasting of time. Bees and ants bite them in pieces in two years, unless they do not broke down before you put bees in them.


It is better to bye poly boxes and split them into two or three pieces with table saw. Inner cover and bottom is better to do from wood.

.
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[Acebird]

Found a plan for making styrene nucs.

Jay

Styrene nuc plans

I use to make a lot of airplanes from this material and I found urethane glues to be the best for strength.  When you cut the edges with a saw you loose that flat film surface and the urethane glues will foam and fill all the crevices.  The down side is urethane is not as healthy for you to use until it is fully cured.

[Robo]

I'm with Finski on this.   Beware.    Bees will chew thru the blue and pink insulation board like butter.   So by the time you coat the inside to protect the bees from chewing, and the outside to protect from UV,  you are better off the buy the polystyrene nucs.  They are much more dense and the bees can not chew them.  Ants can though.

Trust me,  I would much rather build my own stuff than buy,  but in this case I've relinquished to buying.

[Acebird]

I don't know how well this would work but in the building of wing structures you glass the outside surface.  A poor mans way is to use old curtain material (basically polyester).  For a wing you would use epoxy but I have used epoxy paint for the resin part. It bonded the curtain material to the foam and added the color all in one.  Amazing how strong a wing it will make.

[rdy-b]

Found a plan for making styrene nucs.

Jay

Styrene nuc plans

I use to make a lot of airplanes from this material and I found urethane glues to be the best for strength.  When you cut the edges with a saw you loose that flat film surface and the urethane glues will foam and fill all the crevices.  The down side is urethane is not as healthy for you to use until it is fully cured.

IS that where you get your handel--RDY-B

[Countryboy]

Bees will chew thru the blue and pink insulation board like butter.

I cut some pieces of one inch thick insulation board to use as inner covers.  I bought some 18X24 inch ziplock bags on eBay, and put the insulation piece inside the ziplock bag.

I haven't had a problem with the bees chewing through the bags.

A sheet of insulation board at Lowe's is like $15, and I can get 14 insulation pieces out of a 4X8 foot sheet.
I bought something like 250 18X24 inch ziplock bags for about $100 on eBay. 
I have roughly $1.50 in an insulation sheet inner cover that bees won't chew through.

Folks can bag individual styrofoam pieces to prevent bees from chewing them.  I think they would be better off buying a styrofoam box, put a divider in it, and use a bagged styrofoam cover like this.

[skflyfish]

I agree with Finski and Robo, based on my experience with the all season inner cover, they do eat the polystyrene pretty quickly.

BUT, Acebird's experience with urethane glues makes me believe one could adjust the dimensions out a 1/4 inch each direction and laminate some 1/8 inch luan to the intertior, so the bees won't chew the polystyrene.

@Robo,

Have you ever split full hives in the fall and placed them in your nucs and added a queen? Thx.

[Acebird]

IS that where you get your handel--RDY-B

Yes and no but it fit for that hobby also.

My last name is Cardinal.  In high school that took on the nick name of Card.  So Ace- is a card and Cardinal is a bird, Acebird.  My brothers have taken on the name of Rotvogle, (german) red bird.

BUT, Acebird's experience with urethane glues makes me believe one could adjust the dimensions out a 1/4 inch each direction and laminate some 1/8 inch luan to the intertior, so the bees won't chew the polystyrene.

Yes, easy to do but it raises the cost and time to construct.  If you laminate the outside also after the box is constructed you will have darn near an indestructible box.

[Finski]

If you laminate the outside also after the box is constructed you will have darn near an indestructible box.

Small ants will find a tiny hole