Queenless overwintered hive.

[van from Arkansas]

Nucs are indeed the Swiss Army knife.  A excellent metaphor by HP.  As Old Beavo suggest, nucs are problem solver for many a distressed hive.

I will have a nuc, made by split this week.  By May, I will have about 10 nucs ready to support my queen rearing operation.  But I tell ya, I am not good at over winterization of nucs in this area.  I have tried side by side for warmth, singly, double and even tripe high 5 frame nucs and old man winter takes his share.  So I just over winter over 10 frames as I have done for, Er eh, never mind.

HoneyPump, you always provide great advice, thank you Sir.  I will save this hive, as a backyard beek this my enjoyment of bees is working different solutions to create resolve therefore saving the hive.  The easiest was adding eggs and hoping for a queen cell but there is no mature drones for mating for another 7 days.  I saw the first walking drone, one, last week.

So, I?ll keep adding brood as needed or combine with a split this week.

[Oldbeavo]

Overwintering nucs depends on their strength in Autumn.
If the nuc is really full then they will overwinter OK. These full nucs are tempting to add to a box to make a hive, but in the Autumn you are risking giving them too much room to take care of over winter.
Logic says there is not enough room, 5 frame nuc with 2 frames of brood that is already full of bees, should over flow but it doesn't.

[van from Arkansas]

Overwintering nucs depends on their strength in Autumn.
If the nuc is really full then they will overwinter OK. These full nucs are tempting to add to a box to make a hive, but in the Autumn you are risking giving them too much room to take care of over winter.
Logic says there is not enough room, 5 frame nuc with 2 frames of brood that is already full of bees, should over flow but it doesn't.

Thanks Mr. Beavo.  I agree, my logic would prevail and I would make a 10 frame out of a Fall stuffed nuc.  I would be willing to winter over a 5 frame as you described, over stuffed with bees, brood.  This over winterization of 5 frame nucs is successfully done by many.

[Bill Murray]

Beemaster always gets me thinking. I just recently shook out a queenless nuc into the beeyard. It was a friend's bees. I should have had him transfer the frames into a 10 frame box and newspaper combine it with his other hive. Or added a frame with a sealed QC into the nuc.
It is amazing how many days a softball size cluster of queenless bees (I am sure there is no Q) will linger around the yard on a bush.

Something that I came away with from last years Beefest was the double screened Bottom Thanks Jim. Any way I have used them consistently. Queenless hive? still chilly? put those 2 frames on a queen-rite hive with a double screened bottom add a frame of open brood. VIOLA. Ive built about 30 of them out of old plyboard feeder tops. they are great for splits also, you cant beat them. Thanks again Jim.