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>Cameron Skinner asks about wintering nucs over double screen. Also mentions
placing a nuc over a hive with one or two deep supers separating the two.
 
    Placing a nuc above another hive with supers between would be done in the
spring, as a way of increasing population for greater honey production - a 2
queen setup. In this the bees are separated by excluders and workers
intermingle freely.
 
   A screen system is for overwintering, and we do not want bees to have to
heat empty space, therefore no supers. The principle, is that the nuc, which
is too small to make a cluster sufficient for protection from the cold, gains
heat from the strong hive below, therefore does not need as large a cluster.
The double screen does not allow the workers to intermingle, and the
separation prevents the queens from hurting each other.
   The easiest way to make a suitable double screen is to take a piece of 16
x 20 inch plywood, or flakeboard, (any thickness over 1/4 inch - I've used a
lot of scrap materials for these), cut a 6 or 8 inch hole in the center, and
staple a piece of flyscreen or 1/8 hardware cloth over each side. If only one
side is screened, the queens might be able to hurt each other. It needs a
space between screens.
    Then nail a rim of wood strips on the top edge, more or less 3/4 by 1/2.
Leave about a 2 inch gap on one end for a small entrance for the nuc.
   Place the screen board over the strong hive, so that the rim and entrance
are on top. Add a brood box, put the nuc in the center, adding frames to fill
it out. Frames with honey would be much better than empties. Then put a dry
sugar feeder on top, and keep it filled all winter. Or give them plenty of
syrup while it is still warm enough for them to feed, and again as soon as it
warms back up.
    If the nuc entrance is above the bottom entrance,  too many bees may
drift up to the nuc, weakening the hive that you want to be strong. Place the
nuc entrance on the opposite side as the bottom hive.