Bought a mated queen in October as insurance — can I overwinter her in a mini-nuc, or is that £40 in the bin?
Kent, third year, five colonies. A local breeder had a few late mated queens going and I bought one on impulse, thinking that if a colony turns out queenless in March I'll be very glad of her. Now she's in a travel cage on my kitchen table and I'm realising I hadn't thought past the purchase.
Options I can see. Put her in a mini-nuc — an Apidea or similar — with a cupful of bees and hope.
Or build her a proper small colony: a 5- or 6-frame nuc with a frame of brood, two of stores, and a shake of bees off my strongest hive. It's mid-October in Kent, so that brood frame will be the last of the year and she won't get much of a laying window before it goes cold.
Or introduce her now to my weakest colony, which is queenright but headed by a two-year-old queen I wasn't impressed with, and accept I've simply requeened late rather than banked anything.
What would you do? And has anyone actually wintered a queen in a mini-nuc in a mild maritime climate, or is that a story people tell?
#queen-banking#nucs#requeening#kent
▲ 8 votes💬 4 replies✅ Solved
4 replies
ImkerinLena · Oct 11, 2026 · ✅ Accepted answer
Bavaria, twenty years. Don't try to winter her in a mini-nuc. It is possible in a mild climate with constant feeding and a sheltered spot, but the failure rate is high and you will be checking a fragile box all winter. A queen is only as safe as the colony around her. Either make her a real nuc now or use her now.
BuckfastLinda · Oct 11, 2026
Flanders. Given the date, I'd use her. A 6-frame nuc made in mid-October in a maritime climate is a coin flip, and a spare queen you lose in January is worth nothing in March. Requeening the colony you already don't like is a real gain you keep. ImkerinLena's right that a queen needs a colony — so give her the best one you can spare.
CorkBeeRon · Oct 12, 2026
Cork, and our climate is close to yours. Third vote for using her, with one caution: introducing to a queenright colony means finding and removing the old queen first, and at this time of year a colony that ends up queenless because you mislaid her is in serious trouble. Do it on a mild afternoon, take your time, and use a proper introduction cage with a slow release.
KentishBee · Oct 12, 2026
Right — requeening the grumpy one on Tuesday, cage with a slow release, and I'll stop pretending I can bank queens with five hives and a shed. Thanks all.