> If both were wintered in a normal wintering shed - is there any basis
> to my two different gut feelings about these configurations.

There are a lot of intangible factors here, like the history of the two
colonies and their queens, which will never be exactly the same, and the
ventilation characteristics of the two hives.

If the nuc was made up late in the season, or became plugged out early and
is now full of old bees, it may decline suddenly compared to a similar
cluster in a larger, unrestricted hive.  If either colony was close to
starvation last fall, or is now, that will stack the cards against it, since
the protein reserves in the hive and in the bees themselves will be low.

As for how they look, crowded hives always look much better when opened, but
they may, or may not turn out as well in the long run.

allen
A Beekeeper's Diary: http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and  other info ---
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::