from Enjoy Beekeeping
Spring is just around the corner. Many beekeepers both new and experienced, are making plans for starting new colonies of bees in 2015. Are you one of the many that currently enjoy this amazing
hobby? If so, you already know the excitement that comes from bringing home your package or nuc from your local apiary, or perhaps awaiting their arrival in the mail. If you are a “new-beek”, you
are in for a real treat as a first time beekeeper.
One of the questions that most new beekeepers ask is, “Which is better for starting a colony of bees? A 2lb or 3lb package of bees, or a nuc?” An even better question for you might be, “What is a nuc?“
Well today you will get the answer to both of these questions so that you will be in a better position to determine which is a better fit for you as a beekeeper. So lets clear things up a bit:
What is a nuc? A “nuc” is short for nucleus colony. This is a colony of bees that is relatively small in comparison to a larger production hive. These bees are just getting started, but they are already doing
everything that a full production colony does. They have some honey, pollen, baby bees in various stages of development and a queen that is an egg laying machine ready to bring that small colony up to a full scale production colony that will contain upwards of 50,000 – 60,000 bees. If conditions are favorable, this can be accomplished in just a few months, and you could enjoy your first honey harvest sooner than you think.
The advantage of starting with a nuc is your bees have a head start. They have drawn comb – which is a huge plus because it takes approximately 8 lbs of sugar or nectar to draw just 1 lb of comb. The down side to nucs, which in my opinion is not really a down side, is you’ll have to wait until mid spring in order to get a one. Obviously they’ll need this time in order to build their house, right? But patience can have its reward with a colony that is off to a strong start. The cons to starting a nuc really boil down to just two things: (1) they cost about $50 – $100 more than a package and (2) you’ll have to wait for a nuc till mid to late spring before they are available.
When you get a package of bees, you get bees with nothing more than the stripes on their backs! So if you get a package of bees the main advantage is, you’ll get them sooner than you would a nuc which is great for those of you who are simply ready to burst because you’ve been waiting all winter long as it is. However, this may possibly be the only advantage of package bees. You see, since they have absolutely nothing, they have to start from scratch – which means YOU will need to feed them sugar unless you are in the middle of the spring honey / nectar flow. And even if you are, it’s still a good idea to plan on feeding just in case of a slow start. Remember bees won’t forage if it’s rainy and cold, so they will be counting on you to feed them via the many types of feeders available on the market.
In the video below, Gene shows you how to install a package of bees:
Another thing to plan on is getting a few more stings than you would if you start with a nuc. Unless of course you are wearing a full bee suit. (I’ve never owned a bee suit unless my shorts and T-shirt count as one!) You literally have to shake the bees out of the package into your hive that you plan on using. For some this is a real rush to say the least. I’ve seen some newbees simply open the package and let the bees figure out where to go inside the bee hive, but this is not recommended by the more experienced bee keepers since they really need to cluster around the queen and unless you literally dump the bees onto the frames where she will be suspended in her temporary cage, things can go wrong. For example, they may not climb out fast enough to cluster around her causing her to lose precious heat on cold nights.
Package bees will at times decide that they do not like their new home. Even though you’ve probably painted it really fancy and it looks like the perfect textbook beehive just like you see in the magazines, they might abscond. Sometimes it’s the smell – bees are very sensitive to smells as you’ll soon discover in your journey of understanding bee behavior. So your hive is subject to their approval. They may leave your beautiful bee mansion to go live in an abandoned car gas tank or a under a neighbor’s birdbath – believe me they’ve done it more than you think. Bee logic is not like ours, so you just have to anticipate the possibility of the unexpected.
So, to recap the pros and cons of package bees: (1) they cost less than a nuc (2) you’ll get them earlier in the spring. The cons are (1) they might not accept the hive you put them in (2) you need to feed (3) they have nothing started yet.
Now that you understand the difference between starting a nuc or a package you’ll need to decide which is the best route to take. But by all means, get started! Don’t let any fears or uncertainty you might feel hold you back from starting this amazing journey. My best advice to you is to seek out a mentor. One thing beekeepers love to do is talk about bees. It’s like an obsession for most, and you’ll soon join the ranks too!
If you are new or feel that you could use more coaching please feel free to attend one of our spring 2015 organic beginners courses we will be hosting at our farm. We keep our class sizes small so that you’ll get the most out of this very informative course. You’ll get a good start in the right direction so that you can be a successful beekeeper. For more information on this subject, check out Enjoy Beekeeping on Facebook, or feel free to e-mail me at enjoybeekeeping [at] gmail or visit my site www.enjoybeekeeping.com. Email me also for more information about attending our classes.
12 Comments
Another difference between packages and nucs…..the package may not be a cohesive unit….bees could have been taken from several hives to make up the package, so they may not know each other, much less the queen! The nuc has a mated and laying Queen, so that helps make up for the time lag in getting the nuc later than the package. Yes, the nuc costs more but mine came with a deep nuc box, which I find extremely handy as a woman beekeeper because I can pick up a full nuc but not a full Langstroth hive box.
After last years experience with packages coming out of California, no one who is cost conscious should be buying packages from there. I purchased 9 packages last year from a reputable supplier I had purchased bees from before. Seven of the hives had queen problems and experienced constant supercedure. The bees knows when their queen is weak and failing and they spent the entire summer requeening themselves. Consequently I lost six of the nine hives (packages) and a seventh is just limping along. I’m not the only one, there are reports all around the web discussing this problem. I’m also not new to beekeeping so it was not that they weren’t installed or cared for properly. Many people think its due to a new fungicide being sprayed on crops in California, others say the poor queens are due to the drought. Bottom line is, people should not be wasting their money on packages coming out of California until this problem is solved. Find a local beekeeper and get to know him and his practices and get your bees (Nuc) locally.
@Ron Lane: I’ve heard the same from other beekeepers regarding package bees from California. I was talking to someone from my local bee group and she lost half her hives since fall. All were new hives with Cali package bees.
Also, around here (Indiana), there doesn’t seem to be much of a price difference between nucs and packages. Nucs bought locally only cost $20-30 more than a package from Cali. So the only ‘con’ with nucs is scarcity, at least where I live. If you don’t put a deposit down early, you probably won’t get any.
Great post on the pros and cons of these 2 methods. I just wanted to add a little more specificity on both.
The pros on a nuc are overwhelming, as far as the well-being of the *colony* goes. (not so good on the pocketbook): The queen is already laying, so she has a head start: The first batch of eggs has ALREADY been laid. Some may be ready to emerge even. That may be a 3 weeks advantage, more or less, in population explosion. But this is not doable for the larger beekeepers: Who can pay $125.00(X the number of hives desired) for each 5 frame nuc? Also, if you have kept bees before, you can give the new package some comb that is already drawn, and also perhaps some stores from a *clean* dead out. That is why experienced commercial beekeepers buy packages: They have the resources to help their 3 Lbs or even 2 Lbs packages. Around here (cold Wisconsin) we may shoot for May.
Another con I can see with the packages is that the queen you get is not always mated, so if you go through a cold spell after installation, remember that she is only viable for about 5 days after she emerges. Minus a day or two for transport and the girl only has 2-3 days at the most for her wedding. Rainy, cold weather for a couple of days and she is done. She has to find a DCA (Drone Congregation Area) within a couple of miles, while all surrounding hives are themselves just starting their expansion ( and they start with foragers at first, not drones), and within that DCA, she needs enough suitable drones. Nowadays, when we want maximum rentability from hives and destroy most drones, that is not always easy. Add a spoonful of pesticides, and most of the drones will be shooting blanks. The poor girl is up against formidable odds. No wonder she may not have enough eggs to last and often has to be replaced sometime in the first summer.
Remember that for a lot of honey, you need a lot of personnel, since the foragers can each only carry so much pollen and nectar back to the hive each time. Be ready to feed a lot so the colony can build up in time for the flow.
Too early, and you will spend a fortune on syrup and feed, too late and your colony will not be built up enough to take advantage of the flow.
Our obsession in getting hives started as soon as possible in the spring may be counter-productive: A June Queen (emerging in a period of abundance) will have a better start: She will have a chance to mate with more drones as all colonies are in a state of expansion and more forage from day one because of the warmer weather. Now the deck is stacked in her favor.
Very good information ,thank you
Please send more info on beginner course
Some if this is not really true. You absolutely do not need to shake a package into a hive. If you stick the queen in a box of frames, invert the (open) package on the frames, place an MT box over it and close the hive. The bees will move out of the package quickly and go to work. Handle your bees gently and you will get stung less.
In reality, a nuc and package are about the same. You obviously need to care for a package more, but the extra cost just goes for the care the vendor puts into making a nuc. It is a toss up.
Hummm. I can see people adding comments, and I’m even notified, but I cannot read the comments that have been added.
Help!
I find it is packages bees for me. Thank you so much for sharing and packages bees valuable information you have been able to share us through this post.
I’m interested in knowing more about the queen bee. Can you help out?
[…] get going in the spring, but packages also are much less expensive. Keeping Backyard Bees has a helpful article about choosing which to start with. When looking for bees, you can get local overwintered bees […]
Great demo, thanks!!