Are you a new beekeeper deciding on your first nucleus colony? Choosing the right nuc size can make a big difference in your beekeeping success. In this blog post, we’ll explain why Jurassic Bees’ 6-frame nucs offer significant advantages over standard 5-frame options, especially for beginner beekeepers looking to establish a strong, healthy hive.

Our detailed comparison highlights the key benefits of starting with a 6-frame nuc, from increased space for brood and food stores to better temperature control and reduced swarming risk. The 6-frame nuc’s extra frame gives bees room to grow, resulting in a more stable and productive colony that’s easier to manage. By the end of this post, you'll understand why Jurassic Bees’ 6-frame nuc is the best choice for launching a thriving hive with less stress and greater success.

Perfect for beekeepers starting out, this guide is packed with essential insights on the benefits of choosing a larger nucleus colony. Read on to learn why Jurassic Bees’ high-quality 6-frame nucs set you up for success with strong, resilient bees from day one.

The NBU best practice provides a detailed best practice guide for nucleus colonies. The document can be found HERE

A nucleus is a well-balanced colony between 3-6 British Standard brood combs. It should have bees, food, brood, and a queen. The total number of combs should be stated. For bees on other sizes

of frames the buyer and seller should reach agreement. A nucleus should be in a position to expand as soon as purchased, without the risk of starvation. It is not just the number of bees, but the queen and the quantity and age of the brood that is important. The container should have adequate ventilation to allow for transportation.

Combs and Frames. The frames should be securely nailed/pinned and be in sound order. They need not be new but should have been thoroughly cleaned. Combs should be fully built out, i.e., not wax foundation. The outer combs can be food only, especially on the outside faces. There should be no sacrificial drone comb. Combs should be reasonably free of brace comb and the nuclei should be easy to remove from the container to ensure that the bees are not crushed in the process.

Queen. An established young mated laying queen should be present. She may be marked with the 'standard' colour for the year (although it may not be reliable to assume the colour marking will comply with the convention). If unclipped, her wings may be clipped at the request of the purchaser and with the agreement of the supplier. The queen may be transported caged (for safety and proof of delivery) for release at the destination by the beekeeper. In such cases, full instructions should be provided to assist this process to avoid losses. If requested, the supplier should be able to provide purchasers with records of the source of all queens.

Brood. At least 3 frames with brood should be present. Brood and eggs in all stages should occupy at least half the total comb area, with no brood cycle break. At least 30% of the total comb area should be sealed brood. No more than 15% of the total comb area should be drone brood. There should be no active queen cells at any stage of development.

Food. It must be accepted that the food requirements of a nucleus can vary considerably. A 3-frame nucleus will require the equivalent of 1 full comb of honey and a half frame of pollen as stores. A 6-frame nucleus will require 2 to 3 combs of honey and a whole frame of pollen.

Adult Bees. There should be a good balance of adult bees of different ages and 3-4 frames should be well covered. The bees should be good tempered when handled by a competent handler in suitable conditions. There may be a varying number of drones depending on the time of year.

Health. The brood should be healthy and not show any signs of disease in any stage, except that a small number of cells showing chalk brood is acceptable as this infection is so common in UK colonies. In the adult bees there should be no obvious signs of any disease (for example: acarine which can be cause distinctive “K” wings or crawling bees; deformed wing virus which can cause damaged wings and is associated with heavy Varroa infestation; and, Nosema which can cause dysentery). No wax moth should be visible.

All of our nucleus colonies come with 6 frames. All of our frames are fully drawn comb, and are less than 8 months old. This means the contents of the nuc are the freshest and cleanest they can be. Fresh comb is vital to a colony’s health. The wax filters out pesticides and disease. Often some cheaper, lower standard nucleus colonies are built with old frames and dirty black wax way beyond its life.

The NBU recommend that comb is replaced after 3 years! With A nucleus colony from Jurassic Bees, your comb will be the freshest possible, allowing you to get the most life from your purchase and the bees to get the best start possible in their new home.

Many suppliers provide nuc’s in 5 frames rather than 6. When you stop and think about it, the 6^th frame provides an additional 20% over the 5 frame nuc option. Imagine that, two suppliers offering the same product, but one with an extra 20% for no extra cost!

So why are 6 frames better than 5?

So, what is so special about a 6 frame nuc from Jurassic Bees? This link HERE takes you to a video showcasing why our 6 frame nucs are considered to be the best option.  

Extra stores

With an additional 20% of comb available, it is clear that the 6 frame nuc offers much more room for the bees to store resources required for their explosive spring growth.

It is not unusual for a customer to receive a nucleus colony in the spring, only for the weather to then change to more wintery conditions. In a five frame nuc, this immediately places the colony at risk of starvation.  With a 6 frame nuc, with its additional 20% of comb available, this risk is much reduced since the bees have additional stores supplied in their nuc.

Extra Brood.

The NBU calls for a minimum of 3 frames of brood in all stages and expects a minimum of 30% of the comb to be sealed brood.

Clearly, again, the additional comb allows for a much larger brood nest. This means when you receive your nucleus colony, your nuc will contain a much greater amount of sealed brood, meaning your colony will expand much quicker. When a frame a sealed brood hatches, the emerging bees from one frame occupy enough space to cover 3 frames. Having the additional frame not only provides room for more sealed brood, but also allows an additional 20% space for those emerging bees to fill.

Extra Bees

It is well known that a frame of sealed brood, once emerged cover 3 frames. The bees that freshly emerge are known as nurse bees. These nurse bees have two immediate jobs. First to clean and polish the cell they hatched from, ready for the queen to lay in again.

Without these nurse bees, the colony has a very slow expansion in growth. In a 6 frame nuc, not only is there more space for more sealed brood, but there is more space to accommodate more nurse bees.

You can quickly see, that this extra space provides a real double whammy in benefits over a 5 frame nuc. More sealed brood, more nurse bees, more space to accommodate the explosive spring growth!

Reduced Swarming

Spring and early summer are the times of the year when bees will most likely swarm. The main trigger for swarming is when the colony runs out of space. As one long time bee farmer puts it “if they hit the sides, they will be out the front door”. What he means by this, is once the bees lay up enough brood inside the hive or the nuc from wall to wall, they will observe their colony is as large as it can get, and hence they will start making swarming preparations.

That is clearly not the best solution if you have just purchased anew nucleus colony!

The additional frame provides an extra 20% space, and hence reduces the urger to swarm before the colony has been transferred into their new hive!

Increased disease resilience.

It is well known that a larger colony is much better at fighting off disease such as chalk brood and intruders like wax moth. Also, other factors lead to a smaller colony, such as high varroa load.

By purchasing a 6 frame nuc that is booming and full of bees, they have the best chance at reducing these diseases. Quite simply, the additional 20% means there will be plenty of nurse bees tending to the new young brood, and it is less likely that any brood will get neglected, paving way for chalk brood or other brood disorders.

If you purchase a 5 frame nuc, it simply doesn’t have the same amount of nurse bees tending to the colony.

Better growth, better honey harvest.

Yes thats right! A 6 frame nuc provides a HUGE benefit in the growth of the bees. During the spring time, the bees rapidly expand exponentially. Most nucs get transferred into a new hive, often needing to draw out the extra combs. 

Now imagine how much quicker a colony can expand with that extra frame. They have one less frame they have to draw out comb, they have more bees, more brood and more resources. With a 5 frame nuc, these colonies are much further behind in their development and this will be reflected in the total growth and productivity of that hive throughout the year. 

Conclusion:

• 6 frames provide an additional 20% of drawn comb

• The 6-frame option includes more space for resources, like pollen and nectar. Without this, the bees have no option but to forage during the undepictable spring weather in order to have any chance in maintaining the colony or raising the next generation of bees.

• A 6 frame nuc provides more space for more bees. More bees means a quicker spring expansion.

• By including an additional frame, the colony is more resilient during the unpredictable spring weather. A sudden change in weather puts smaller nucs at risk of starvation. This is greatly reduced with a 6 frame nuc from Jurassic Bees.

• More nurse bees tending to brood means the brood is better cared for and less likely to succumb to brood diseases. This is vital to spring expansion.

• By allowing an additional 20% of space, the colony is much less likely to start swarming preparations early in season.

• More bees, more brood, 20% extra drawn comb is the perfect ay to get the best growth from your Nuc of bees. Imagine having a choice between one option that may another with 20% extra. Well, if you choose the 5 frame nuc, the bees have an extra 20% more work to do when they arrive with you.