Has anybody ever made ...

[Bumble]

... a mini-nuc?

I've got hold of some long and thin polystyrene containers. (Posh fish boxes, from a supermarket) They're fairly flimsy things when compared to poly hives, but a lick of paint to both inside and outside should reduce chewing. I think, with a bit of careful trimming, they could be made into a mini-nuc type box or two.

If it were to work, what size top bars do you think would be best? They'd have to be made out of planed strips of wood, with something attached to the lower face to act as a guide.

[nemphlar]

A 4 can poly chiller correx insert with sealant for a feeder, correx top bars,gloss paint in thr feeder and masonry paint on the outside, for added sophistication a 15mm copper pipe entrance. £3 ea labour dependent on hourly rate.

[fatshark]

I have ... lined the poly with thin ply, but actually correx would be quicker and easier. Top bars - like a Kieler - were 22mm x 9mm x width of the box. I used plastic pipe for the entrance ... I think I've read somewhere that the entrance tube should be flush with the outside wall or they can't find there way in (probably when reading up on observation hive entrances).

However, in the end I just bought more Kielers for the convenience of interchangeability of parts and the 'super'.

[Jon]

I bought 10 more apideas today. They are well designed and pay for themselves with the first queen raised.
But I do see the attraction of tinkering with home made correx mini-nucs.
I found a drone laying queen in a colony on 10th March and squashed it.
I had an overwintered queen in an apidea which I used to requeen the colony.
It is now nearly at full strength and has a super on so that apidea saved a colony now worth £200.

[Adam]

Plywood ones I've made and the bees get through winter in them. Used super frames 140 x 140 squareP1010150small.jpgSmallblackqueen.jpg

One picture shows the frame - with a tiny queen (caught swarm). The other has a plywood nuc on an apidea. A bodge but the bees were not fussed.

7 - 8 frames in a plywood nuc got through the winter with a little TLC. I got 4 colonies through like that last year.

[Adam]

Like Jon, I used the the overwintered queens to replace drone layers/failed queens in full sized colonies in March.

[Bumble]

But I do see the attraction of tinkering with home made correx mini-nucs.

I've got plenty of correx too, maybe that would be better. I like the idea of tinkering, especially when it doesn't cost anything.

[prakel]

My latest experiment:

427558_310008419096048_1192551877_n.jpg544409_310008335762723_565043658_n.jpg

A twin box designed to take frames which are interchangeable with the Lyson Mini-plus hives. Shown with 9 frames although it can be converted to two four comb mating nucs by inserting a divider. Using a simple slab of 4" Kingspan and a brick as a roof at the moment...

[Neils]

Nice work Prakel, If I can get a Thornes budget hive square and able to take frames at both ends I figure I've done well.

[prakel]

LOL. The first trial boxes were a little off square but it's surprising what can be achieved with a borrowed table saw. Still early days but if they continue to impress then I'll be making more next spring -I might even build some 'proper' roofs for them!