Is June or July too Late to Start a Nuc?

In our experience it is not if you are committed to feeding your nucs heavily from the time that you receive them until late Fall.

The primary natural nectar flow in our region runs from approximately the 3rd week of April through early June. This ends the typical natural feeding for the year unless you are fortunate to live in an area that has a later fall flow.

After the end of the natural nectar flow ends, the bees need fed in order to build-up and do well. Even established colonies often need close monitoring and feeding in the late summer/fall to get ready for winter. This depends on the following factors:

1. Quantity of spring nectar flow of your region.
2. How much honey you may have taken from them.
3. If they have to eat heavily of their food stores prior to winter.

We start producing our own colonies for over-wintering after we finish selling our nucs for the year. We historically produce our own colonies to over-winter in July and August (sometimes even into early September).  

We hardly ever have trouble building up colonies before winter but are committed to heavy feeding.

It takes approximately 100 lbs of sugar per colony for them to:

• draw comb
• rear brood
• establish enough food stores before winter.

PLEASE NOTE: Not feeding your new colonies enough will often stunt them. Colonies will often shut-down or slow-down the queen's egg-laying because of the dearth and not draw new comb. This is a very energy-intensive process for them. They need sufficient numbers of bees of all ages before the cold weather sets in to:

• rear brood
• draw comb
• forage
• store food

And whatever you do, please do not take "honey" from them the first year when they are trying to draw comb and get established.When feeding them sugar syrup, they do not produce real "honey." Sugar syrup is ONLY a food source for the bees.