A promised, here is the summary of advice received by email in response
to my plea for advice on the subject of making up baby nucs:
 
Kerry's much appreciated reply already was posted to the list, so I won't
repeat it here, but Andy's came to me direct and I think it is so good, I
am quoting it in its entirety.
 
I appreciate the quick and detailed practical responses received; they
made it simple for me to make the nucs with only a few more or less
harmless little blunders - due entirely to not following the advice quite
to the letter. My books, although good, are not quite as practical as the
advice received here.
 
The nucs are doing fine -- all 120 or so made to date, and each batch is
easier than the last.  We will have mated queens in a couple of days or
so, I expect.
 
I might add that it took my daughter and me two hours to make up 40 nucs
-- we didn't do the 500 that Andy manages.  However I am counting the time
that we spent making up the bulk bees for the nucs, which was over half
the time.  And, of course we are beginners at this new activity.
 
The nucs are amazing. I am impressed by how a tiny handful of bees can
draw out foundation and fill it with syrup, and also how vulnerable to
temperature tiny nucs can be.
 
I'm having a ball, and have to thank Andy and Kerry for their pointers
which made the job easy.
 
***********************************************************************
Andy's reply:
 
AD<>The questions:
  <>""""""""""""""
  <>Can I stock the nucs and introduce cells today - leaving them closed for
  <>a day or two?  Temperatures are max 22 degrees Celcius (75 F or so) with
  <>frosts the last few nights.
 
AD<>How best should I stock the nucs?  What's the best way to shake bees for
  <>the nucs?  How many bees should I put in each nuc?
 
AD<>Any (FAST!) answers will be appreciated and please reply direct to me,
  <>not the list and I will summarise - much as Adam did after getting help
  <>with his nuc problem.
 
We shake bee's into 20 lb cages. It is best when the bee's you
shake have been in a good pollen and nectar flow. We stock the nucs
after dark using bug lights for vision. We sprinkle thin sugar syrup on
the bee's to keep them from crawling out of the cages when opened. Use a
spam can with long handle to measure the bee's out and pour them into the
nuc which has a queen cell already added. We use a small propane torch
to heat a spot on the comb for the cell so it does not fall out when
handled.
 
We then put the nuc's into a small dark building, ours happen's to be
a Sears metal tool shed with a big water cooler and sprinkler's on the
roof to keep it cool during the day. The nuc should be closed and not
put out until the queen is hatched and we leave them in for 3-4 days.
 
The amount of bee's needed depending on the size of your nuc, it sounds
like you could use one spam can full, but you may want to use two. If
they all swarm the first time you use them you will know that one can
would have been enough.<G>
 
Two people can make up 500-600 in a couple hours.
 
Our nucs are all plastic with 3 fixed combs. The bottom of the box is
the feeder and we use drivert or a mix of sugar for feed. We shake the
bee's onto a flat cardboard and grab the mated queen, then dump the bees
back on the ground in front of the nuc and come back and re-cell them.
It is very fast and easy. We lug a small table out to the queen yards so
we are not on our hands and knees all the time, saves on the old back.
 
Small nuc's are good in the spring, as soon as it get's hot they go to
hell real fast. This year it has been real cool and the nuc's are still
doing well. As we take them in we will catch the queen and let the
good one's rase a natural queen.<G>
 
*Fixed combs are not legal in some locals, our nuc's are easy to inspect
by anyone who is interested and we have never had a regulatory problem
because they do not have movable frames as required by some regulations.
 
The boxes were originally made for another purpose and adapted for use
as nucs and are styrofoam plastic and have a wooden bottom glued on to
give them some additional weight as they are easily blown around without
it in a good wind. The boxes have been in use for 20 or more years and
have produced 10's of thousand's queens sold in four frame nuc's used
by beekeepers within 300 miles. The boxes are subject to attack by
rodents and must be kept in an enclosed gas tight room when not in use
to protect them from the elements and wax moths, and mice.
 
                      Andy-
 
I more then likely left out the secret formula for success, but if
I remember I will let you know.<G>