Nucleus Hives and Queen rearing
Nucleus Hives and Queen Rearing
An Important part of your Queen Rearing and colony increases and to aid swarm control, used for collecting your nucleus of bees too.
Assembled nucleus Hive, Floor entrance block, brood body to hold five deep frames, crown board, with feed hole and roof.
Cedar, Five frame £89.95
Waterproof ply wood, Five frame, deep roof £69.95
Nucleus Contact Feeder 1 litre £3.95
So, how do you give your poly hive or poly nuc box the best life you can.
Alternatively, masonry paints or even the cuprinol shades can also be used.
Painting the inside of the feeder is also recommended, especially if you are going to be using it for weak sugar syrup. If you are using paint other than the polystyrene paint, make sure the finished surface is roughened to aid the bees in climbing.
Cleaning.
The hives are best cleaned with a solution of washing soda. This will dissolve propolis and clean off any dirt etc. Be careful trying to remove propolis and wax with the hive tool, as it will dig into the polystyrene if the tool is not kept flat.
Sterilisation of the hive can be carried out with a solution of household bleach, normally a 10% solution is recommended. Virkon S, obtainable from farm suppliers and some vets is also a very good cleaning liquid. Wear suitable protection, including eye protection, when cleaning your hive.
Apidea Mating Hive £24.00
These mini nuc’s have been used by The Honey Pot for raising nucs for about 25 years. They come with self assembly frames, feeder chamber, sliding entrance, crown board and roof.
Very useful for Queen rearing, saving queens and swarm control.