Note: most of these are sold locally and are picked up by appointment. However, we now can ship these to the lower 48 states! 

Note: We can make these to fit any Warré hive design you may have, for the same price. All we need is a few key measurements. 

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSJDeaZ179Ne19eNR74p0BpMAzuA8hirA


What's included?

- Telescoping Roof with Warré-style vents

- Quilt box: so you can manage moisture and ventilation of the nuc like you will for your Warré. 

- 5 Frame Langstroth Deep Nuc body 

- 1” thick covers: these make the boxes "bee tight" so bees cannot get into or out of the boxes.  2 cover the exposed areas of the top of the Warré hive and 2 cover the exposed areas on the bottom of the Nuc box. We recommend these to be caulked (not inlcluded) in place to keep out the weather as well. 

- No entrances in the Nuc box: this forces bees to use the main entrance of the Warré hive. 

Why do I need this? 

Buying local nucs from regional beekeepers is an ideal way to start a colony. Whether it's a proven overwintered treatment free nuc or one made that spring with a local queen, having local bees that are related to each other helps tip the odds in your favor for success. You can mail order a specific breed of bees too. Beekeepers should check that the queen has a proven laying pattern, have been bred for desirable traits, and have survived your local conditions. Find the bees you want, that have been treated the way you see fit, and help them transition into your top bar hive. 

How does this work? The bees build down into the Warré Hive ...

Since some nucs come in cardboard boxes we decided to provide a sturdy wooden Nuc box to replace whatever is given to you. 

First set up the stand and 1-2 hive bodies with bars. Then place this Nuc box centered over the top bars of the Warré box. Next, attach the covers to the top of the Warré box and the bottom of the Nuc box to cover all gaps and make it bee tight. Call these joints and screw the covers in place. This also serves to anchor and stabilize the nuc box. Practice and imagine transferring the frames with bees, covering the tops of the frames with the cloth, setting the quilt on the cloth and filling it with shavings, and placing the roof on the nuc box.  Finally actually transfer the frames of the Nuc you bought into the new Nuc box and set the cloth, quilt and roof in place. 

As the colony expands they will build natural comb on the bars of the Warré hive and the comb will be perfectly sized for the new hive cavity. The brood nest will move down to expand into the new comb. Once they have mostly filled the Warré box with comb, the colony can be transitioned to the new hive body. Simply make sure the queen is in the Warré hive, remove the Nuc box and brush/shake the rest of the bees from the old Nuc frames into the new hive body. Then set up the Warré hive as it normally is set up. We prefer to leave it on the stack for a whole calendar year and eventually cycle it out in a honey harvest. 

There are other ways to play this out that we can go over in a mini lesson. 

You also can contact our farm for tech support. We usually respond within minutes of getting an urgent request for help.