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2021 Bee NUC pickup
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Time again for the annual bee NUC run.


As per the last several years I am putting together a bulk order of 5 frame beehive NUCs. The company I get them from is Sunrise Honey in Yakima (info below) and they host a pickup on one weekend in April (generally this has been the 1st or 2nd Saturday of April  but the date to be determined later). I will be making the drive over to Yakima at 4am on pickup day to bring the NUCs back to my house in Cottage Lake (near Woodinville and Duvall). Their prices actually came down this year to $140 per NUC (if you prefer to pick them up yourself). If you want me to pick them up, then I tack on $10 for driving them here from Yakima (so $150).

50% is due on ordering (check or PayPal) since that is what I have to pay them to hold the order. The balance is due at pickup at my house.

If you need to cancel and I can find someone to purchase your NUCs that is fine, I can give you a refund. It hasn't been a problem yet since they sell out and I usually have a waiting list. That said let me know ASAP to make sure all of our bees have a home to go to. If you need help hiving the NUC let me know and we can work something out. :)

FAQ:
1. What type of bees are these? Sunrise Honey uses a cross of Carnolean and Italian bees which have proven to be good producers in the Duvall area for the last several years

2. Can I use the frames in a top bar hive? These are deep frames for Langstroth hives. Unless you have built your top bar to accept deep Langstroth frames you will want to look into package bees instead

3. What should I expect on the frames? The 5 frames are fully built out with comb, brood and honey. They build them with 1 full frame of honey and 4 frames of brood.

4. Is this a full hive? This is 5 frames which you put into a "deep" box. You will need hardware and tools to turn this into a hive, feel free to reach out to me on DM for more information

5. Does Sunrise Honey guarantee the NUCs? Sunrise Honey only guarantees that there will be a live 2021 Mated Queen inside the Nuc. This Queen may still be in a queen cage, and if so, must be released before she can begin laying new eggs. You are responsible for releasing the queen from her cage into the Nuc. Sunrise honey generally sends me back from Yakima with 2-3 extra queens in case someone has a problem right away; however we have generally seen >95% success with these NUCs getting established. As per their site Sunrise Honey does not guarantee that every queen will be accepted and/or become a perfect producer.  They do offer replacement queens depending on availability for pickup through April, May and June for $35 ea.

 

MORE INFO (copied from their site):

http://www.sunrisehoney.com/five-frame-nucs.html

What is a Nuc?

The term "nuc" is short for "nucleus." Compared to established hives, nucleus hives or (nuc's) usually only consist of 5 frames of brood and bees and a queen. (Much smaller than an established hive of bees) Making a nuc is a very common way of building a new hive out of already existing hives. A nuc contains, bees, brood, and a queen. All three are vital to establishing a new and successful hive!
Will a Nuc be More Productive than a Package?
Yes!!!, you will be weeks ahead with a Nuc vs. a Package, here's why!

Packages - A package will actually dwindle slightly in strength for approximately 24-28 days before new bees begin to hatch allowing the hive to begin growing. When you install a package the queen has to begin from ground zero. It can be as long as 5 days after installing the bees before she even begins laying eggs to produce new bees, especially if you are installing the bees in brand new equipment with no drawn comb. The brood then takes 21 days to mature and hatch as new bees. Hive growth will not and simply cannot occur untill new bees are hatching.

Nuc's - A nuc comes with about 3 pounds of bees plus 5 frames of brood that is at all stages of development. New bees will actually be hatching from Day 1!!! With our nuc's there is only about a 5 day window when the queen will not be laying eggs, this is the time between when the nuc is made and when your new queen is released and begins laying. Because of hatching brood your hive will grow much faster. It will be nearly a month ahead of a package! The more bees in your hive when the honey flow starts the better your hive will produce!