In this instructional video, Laurence Edwards explains his standardized method for preparing nucleus colonies (nucs) for transport, particularly when shipping them through the postal service. He outlines why he predominantly uses the Paynes Poly Nuc, highlighting its integrated side feeder and the option to purchase the hive with only a ventilated screen, which reduces cost and allows reuse of the polystyrene roof. Edwards discusses optimal colony strength—avoiding over‑packing—to ensure the bees remain healthy during transit. He emphasizes the importance of adequate ventilation on both the top and bottom of the nuc, and provides detailed guidance on insulating the ventilated screen with materials such as Celotex, Kingspan, or repurposed hive parts to protect against heat loss and moisture. Upon arrival, he advises immediately opening the entrance disc to let bees exit, ignoring the queen excluder position, and, if the shipment will be delayed beyond two to three days, adding a thin layer of fondant beneath the screen for food, reserving syrup feeding only for warm conditions. The video concludes with a brief invitation to view his overwinter colony footage, reinforcing the practical, hands‑on approach to nuc shipping.
Chapters
In this video, we're going to talk about how to set up a nucleus colony, getting it ready for transport. So we ship out so many nucs throughout the course of the year. This year we're doing roughly around 200. About 30 or 40 of them are being collected and the rest of them are being shipped through the postal service. The way that I set them up though is exactly the same. That's what I'm going to show you in this video. I'm going to talk to you about the choice of nucleus in terms of the actual hive that they're in, why I've chosen that one, and why it really lends itself to going through the postal service. Colony strength, where you need to be getting them up to and why I don't want them completely jam-packed full of bees for sending out in the post, making sure there's adequate ventilation on the top and the bottom, and also talk a little bit about what to do when your nuc arrives if it's in this condition. So we use the Paynes Poly Nuc probably 99% of the time when we're sending them out in the post. The reason that we use the Paynes Poly Nuc is because it's got an integrated side feeder. Now I'm not a massive fan of the integrated side feeder for anything apart from sending things in the post. And the reason is, is that if you have a top feeder, you either can't send it properly in the post or you need to send it as an additional item, and then you end up getting left with lots of different feeders because the manufacturers won't sell you them without the feeder. Whereas Paynes are very, very good. They do a couple of things that I really like. One is that obviously the feeder is an integral part of the National It's a pull-out part of the Langstroth, just as a completely throwaway comment. But in the National, it's integrated, which means that you don't have a top feeder as a standard part of the Nucleus offering. They do it as an extra part of the offering, adds more money on, but for sending nucs out in the post, the integrated side feeder works really, really well. The second thing I like, and this is the big one, is that they will sell you a full Nucleus hive with only a ventilated screen. This is how we've been able to keep the costs down a little bit. I know they're still expensive, these nucs, but Paynes will sell you a complete nucleus hive, so the main body, the plastic crown board, and a ventilated screen only. This means that we can keep the old polystyrene roof and we reuse that year after year after year. And then the big benefit that you get by adding that ventilated screen on the top is that you can screw it down onto the nuc. in order to fully secure it onto the hive. But because the feeder is off over to one side, you get that ventilation directly over the cluster, which means that they travel through the post and they travel in the back of the car or wherever they're going very, very well. So there we go, that's how we set up our nucs. If you're getting one this year, few little tips. First one is you need to get some sort of insulation, something to cover the top of that ventilated screen the second that it arrives with you. The purpose of that screen is to give them ventilation through the postal system, But as soon as you get them out into their position, you need to put something on top of it. A, to stop the heat getting out, and B, to stop the water getting in. This can be a piece of Celotex, a piece of Kingspan. You can repurpose a part of your beehive. Anything is fine, just make sure that it's completely sealed up. Next thing is make sure you open the entrance disc as soon as it arrives. Let the bees fly. I go into the straight open position. Don't worry about the queen excluder position. Open it up, let the bees fly. And then the final one, if you're not transporting them over within say 2 or 3 days, I would recommend adding a thin sheet of fondant underneath that ventilation screen. There's enough space to get a really thin layer of fondant there, and if you're worried that your bees aren't going to have enough food, that's the way that I would recommend feeding them if it's cold. If it's warm enough to feed syrup, then it's warm enough to transfer them over, and you should transfer them over before you start feeding syrup in that nuc. If you want to take a look at some of our overwinter colonies from last year, check out this video here. They look really nice going into winter.
