Uses
A nucleus colony can be used to prevent overcrowding in a larger, healthy colony by splitting some of the population off to a new colony. A nuc can also be used to care for spare queens. The loss of a queen in a large colony can set the colony back by up to a month. A nucleus colony can be combined with the larger colony to re-queen it with a much smaller break in brood rearing. A nuc can also grow into a full-sized colony, given proper time, favorable weather, and appropriate resources.
The terms 'nuc' and 'split' are not strictly interchangeable. While a nuc may have a number of different uses, a split more often refers to dividing a colony for the purposes of growing the removed bees back to a full-sized colony.
A nuc is not normally intended for overwintering, as nuc colonies do not possess a large enough winter cluster to survive winter in harsher climates. Beekeepers often combine nucs together in the fall to produce a single, strong colony. This results in the loss of all but one queen, but provides a colony capable of surviving winter. In warm climates, nucs can overwinter. Nucs can also survive winter indoors, or in an observation hive.
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