Nuc Boxes & Supplies

Nuc (or Nucleus) Boxes are used to hive a small colony of bees — usually a package, swarm, or split. At Betterbee, we've discovered several other uses for Nuc Boxes:

• Holding frames while we inspect a bee hive or redistribute resources.
• Serving as a bait box to capture swarms.
• Functioning as a mating nuc for raising queens.
• Adding a strap and dividers to create a useful toolbox for the yard.
• Housing a battery for an electric fence in our bee yards — unofficially coined the "nuclear power plant."

Double Nucs help Northern beekeepers minimize their dependence on package bees: Overwinter bees in 8 frames arranged in a 4-frame over 4-frame configuration. Prepare the nucs in the summer to overwinter, then sell or use them the following spring. The overwintered nucs we sell are raised in these nuc boxes.