Hello Bee Folk,
   It seems I may have miz-speltd Nuc in my last post.
 
Thanks to all that replied.There was a lot of good info offered. I think
I will go with a 5 frame (insert correct spelling here). The purpose of
the 5 frame (insert correct word here) will be for experience never
having built up a population in a (insert correct spelling here). It
just seems to be another step in my beekeeping.
   The Nucs would be a learning experience plus a way to have queens and
bees on hand. It is costly to order package bees, last years bees cost
me over $100.00 for 2, 5 pound packages. If I hadn't killed my bees the
winter before I would not have had to buy new bees for last season.
  For those that don't remembr my post last year. I killed my bees with
good intentions. I was feeding surgar syrup in 1 gallon cans and the
cans leaked on the clusters and the bees froze. It was a very costly,
stupid mistake and it was very depressing to find all my bees dead.
   So if anyone plans on feeding with buckets or new paint cans. Make
sure to put fewer holes in the lids 3 to 5 should be enough and make
sure that you level the cans with a shim. I did not think about the fact
that the hives were tilted foreward so moisture would run off and out of
the hives. I will feed dry sugar during the cold months from now on.
   Someone posted a reply that I didn't offer enough information with my
request for info. So I will give that now.
   I live in Duke Center, Pennsylvania, USA. in north central Pa, This
section of the state is called the ice box of Pa. It gets very cold here
in the winter actual temps of 10 -15 below zero and windchills much
colder. Spring tends to be wet and cool if not cold. Last year we had
freezing temps into late May.
   A normal summer is warm 60- 80 and getting hot towards the end of
summer up into the 90's. Rain fall is generally regular through out the
summer, usually a rain fall every two weeks or so.
  Last year however was a very bad year for rain. At this time most of
the state is under draught conditions water levels are very low. We have
two streams on our property so the bees always have a source of water.
   My hives are kept under the shade of a willow tree that buds out late
so the hives get early spring sunlight and warmth but good shade in the
heat of summer. There is good air movement around the hive most of the
time.
   We had a good golden rod bloom this past fall and didn't really get
hit with cold weather until the first day of winter. My bees were flying
in November and earlt December. When I checked my hives at the end of
November they were heavy and a quick look under the inner cover showed
good stores. I checked the hives a few days ago and they were very
light.
  I now worry that there will not be food for the remainder of the
winter. The populations in the hive were very large in the fall going
into winter. The hives could be heard humming from a few feet away in
the begining of December, there was a lot of activity going on in both
of them. When I removed the reducers I used a stick to clean out what I
expected to be many dead bees but found very few. The bees had been
keeping things clean. There were dead bees on the ground in front of
both hives. I will check again in a few days if it warms up a bit and
see what the dead count looks like now.
   Thanks for your time and the replies.
 
Gary C. Lewis
Duke Center, Pa. USA