nuc with screened bottom board.

[To Bee Or Not To Bee]

I understand  the nuc has small with a small entrance hole for one of the the reasons of keeping heat in for the brood.  So is it a good idea to put a screened bottom board on a nuc? If we want tne couple of frams of bees and brood to stay warm then would the SBB be harmful or slow the production of the bees?

[Michael Bush]

I have never put a SBB on a nuc.  I've built lots of nucs from two frames to eight frames.  If you really want you might conisder a screened vent somewhere, but I wouldn't make it more than  1" in diameter or so.

[Apis629]

I immagine a screened bottom board on a nuc could work if it has one of those "varroa sheets/slots" so that it isn't open to the outside.  Granted, where it's warmer that isn't quite so big an issue.

[Finsky]

Nuc has difficulties to keep it's brood warm. Entrance are very tiny with nucs. Open bottom will be disaster to small colony.

[Jack Parr]

I made some five frame nucs with SBB and a slide out tray for inspection of hive debris and checking for mites.

No special reason for the SBB and tray except that I know how to make them.

We don't suffer the harsh cold conditions that are the norm for most of the posters on these forums so keeping a nuc warm is not a big issue.

I also made a special standard hive box cover that has a cutout that I fit a five frame nuc onto for making combines using the newspaper trick. In fact I just did a combine two days ago with a small swarm I captured.

[Finsky]

We don't suffer the harsh cold conditions that are the norm for most of the posters on these forums so keeping a nuc warm is not a big issue.
captured.

When you look Oklahoma forecast it seems to be quite cold there for nucs. 34 F. Wind is very bad for screened bottom.

Jack, don't calculate those mites all the time. Just kill them!

http://www.wunderground.com/US/OK/Oklahoma_City.html

AND SNOW : http://www.wunderground.com/wximage/imagesearch.html?statebox=on&state=OK&submit=go

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[Jack Parr]

Is not where I am  Finsky.

I am in  L O U I S I A N A near the Gulf of Mexico. Not as cold here by any means.

The temperature here is 41 degrees F as I write this blurb.  Forecast to be 60 + today.

We barely managed two light, very light frost this past winter. Now we are in the Spring.

Finsky it seem that you spend a lot of time surfing the internet  :?:

[Jack Parr]

I also let my four hive spend the winter with the screen bottom boards mostly open but I do have slide in and out trays under.

I do not count mites per se. I just like to check now an then, but for the most part the bottom of the hives are open and that is good for dropping the debris, and, the MITES  :twisted:

[TwT]

Is not where I am  Finsky.

I am in  L O U I S I A N A near the Gulf of Mexico. Not as cold here by any means.

The temperature here is 41 degrees F as I write this blurb.  Forecast to be 60 + today.

We barely managed two light, very light frost this past winter. Now we are in the Spring.

Finsky it seem that you spend a lot of time surfing the internet  :?:

Jack I think he was talking about "To Bee Or Not To Bee"   being in Oklahoma

[Jack Parr]

O O P S  :!:    :!:    :!:  :!:

:P

[To Bee Or Not To Bee]

This winter in Oklahoma was mild.   I visted with a beekeeper who has been working with bees for over fourty years.  I asked about the screen bottom board on nucs.  He took me to his bee yard and he had  them on his nucs.  I was told that warm air rises so therefore it is ok.  It would not do any harm.
John

[Finsky]

I was told that warm air rises so therefore it is ok.  

That is only true if there is no faintest wind. If you have little wind it wash warm away.

But if it is good, go for it.  When I have  3 frame nucs and it has insulated walls and finfer size entrance, bees have cold there.  When I have gived them electric terrarium heater I have sawn what warm means to nuc or to 4 box hive.

When outside temperature is  20C  terrarium heater is too much to hive.

[Jerrymac]

Every time someone starts talking about heat loss in the hives I have to think about bees located as in these photos;

http://beemaster.com/beebbs/viewtopic.php?t=4574

[Finsky]

Every time someone starts talking about heat loss in the hives ....]

I give you new thinking about  heat loss of  BEEKEEPER

[Michael Bush]

Many times I've taken a struggling colony in a ten frame deep or two ten frame mediums and moved that little cluster of bees into a nuc the size of the cluster (2, 3, 4, or 5 frame nuc) and had them take off and thrive.  Heat loss is a real problem when there are only a handful of bees.  It's not a problem for a booming hive with two or more boxes of bees.  I do live in a cold climate, but if it gets cold at all at night, I can't imagine that the results wouldn't be similar.  ESPECIALLY in the spring.

[Finsky]

but if it gets cold at all at night, I can't imagine that the results wouldn't be similar.  ESPECIALLY in the spring.

That is the point. Even if you have splended day  + 25 C , the coldest point at night may be +5C.  The brood area is +32C.

People like to think best days, but worst weathers limit hive's life. It is not secret what kind of weather you may have on your area. Positive thinking helps nothing. Winfy places are bad too.

I have noticed that when weather is rainy during two week, even big bees start to suffer. Chalk brood may emerge.  When bees get nectar and pollen, they life is very vigorous and action keep temperature high. Bad weather may kill 50% of field bees during one week and then nuc is in trouble.

[To Bee Or Not To Bee]

I want to thank you guys for sharing of your experinces.  I am a new bee and I want to do it right. I sure don't want to chill the progress of my future nucs.  
Thanks
John