Last week I bought a nuc only to find it dead when I opened it up. Since I learned a long time ago that smart pills were expensive, I want to report this experience to you so that you don't have to learn the hard way. I had taken one of those styrofoam nuc boxes to get the nuc. It is totally enclosed except for two approximately 1.5 inch diameter holes in the front. The top hole is screened from the inside. The bottom hole has a circular disc that has 3 different openings--one full open, two with slotted openings that are of two different widths (most likely one smaller to act as a queen excluder). The holes are about 2 inches from the top and bottom. The fellow I bought the nuc from said I didn't have to worry about the bees overheating since the box was well insulated with styrofoam. He was kind enough to put in some extra bees and an empty frame to fill up the positions since the box was five frame and the nuc was four frame. When I got home it was almost dark so I opened the bottom hole to let the bees out if they wanted and a few cam out and looked good. I decided to wait until morning to transfer the bees to a hive. The next morning when I went to the nuc to start the transfer I saw dead bees outside the nuc. This didn't look good and when I opened the nuc what I suspected was true---the bees were dead. My friend that also bought nucs had no such problem. He had brought along a one box hive. A screen was stapled to the front entrance (that had an entrance reducer) and a screen was stapled over the inner cover hole. After installing the nuc a strap was tightened around the hive (minus the outer cover) to hold everything together during transit. These nucs survived. My conclusion is that the styrofoam nuc couldn't support all the bees inside and they suffocated, overheated and died. From now on I will only pick up a nuc in a full 10 frame hive with the front entrance fully open and screened with the top cover removed and the hole in the inner cover screened. I am tempted to make a fully open screened "inner cover" for the top (just a frame and screen) so that the hive can get maximum ventilation during transit. I hope my reporting this experience saves someone from the same experience. Jim Stein -- ----------------------------------------------------------- [log in to unmask] ----------------------------------------------------------- :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info --- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::