The history of the beekeeper's nucs
"These small colonies I shall call nuclei, and the system of forming stocks from them, my nucleus system; and before I describe this system more particularly, I shall show other ways in which the nuclei can be formed. If the Apiarian has sealed queens on hand, they ought, by all means, to be given to the nuclei, in order to save all the time possible. I come now to the very turning point of the whole nucleus system. By careful management, brood enough may be taken from a single hive, to build up a large number of nuclei. If the attempt at very rapid multiplication is made only by those who are favorably situated, and who have skill in the management of bees, a very large gain may be made in the number of stocks, and they may all be strong and flourishing. " -- Langstroth on the hive and the honey-bee: a bee keeper's manual. (1853)
"It is possible to remove combs of brood and bees from strong colonies without impairing their strength. There is a period of about 3 months in which nuclei can grow to colony strength. If these divisions are made sufficiently early in the year, they will make full colonies by late fall." -- G. H. Cale in "The Hive and the Honey Bee" (Dadant & Sons, 1949)
"Indeed, it is not necessary to do anything more than to let a nucleus stand without any help in a fair season, if it can stand long enough. My assistant is inclined to be quite optimistic in some things, and one August she expressed her belief that a nucleus of two frames with a laying queen would be able without any assistance, if started on that date, Aug. 6, to build up into a colony strong enough to winter. I said that would be asking too much, and we would put the matter to the test. So two frames of brood with adhering bees were put in a hive on a new stand, and two days later a laying queen was given. The two frames of brood were rather better than the average, for I wanted her to see that even with an extra chance it was too late in the season for any such growth. I don't know whether she watched that colony on the sly or not, but I did. Looking at it every few days, I could see no gain—if anything it grew weaker. Then I thought I could see a little gain, and in twelve days from the time it was started the two frames of brood had increased to two and a half. Five days later there were three brood, and from that on it walked right along to a fair colony, although it had to be fed up for winter. But I would not want to count on starting for a full colony so late as that in all seasons, especially if the frames of brood were not the very best." -- C. C. MILLER in Fifty Years (Root Company, 1911)
"The wintering of a large reserve of young queens [in nucs] might at first sight seem an extravagant use of equipment, bees, and honey, and unwarranted upkeep and outlay. This is, however, not the case, for the nuclei are almost self-supporting and permit us to subect these queens to a preliminary test before they are transferred to honey producing colonies in the spring." -- Brother Adam in "Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey" (Northern Bee Books, 1975)
"The location of the queen and bee industry has changed over the years since the 1860's. Pioneers of the bee industry were located mainly in the northeastern United States. Nuclei with queens have been offered for sale since at least the 1870's. By the 1880's, queen producers were located across the country, even in the very cold winter areas. Dating from the 1870's, a few southern queen producers sold queens in early spring, but the shift of the larger part of the bee industry to mild winter areas did not start before the 1910's. By the 1930's, the bee industry was located mostly in the south and in California where it is today." -- Kenneth Tucker in "Beekeeping in the United States" (USDA, 1980)
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