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British-bred, five-frame Buckfast colonies on National frames. Calm enough to work in a t-shirt, and strong enough to build fast from the day they arrive.
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Reserve your National nuc. Summer nucs from £350, with free UK delivery.
A free Paynes poly nuc worth over £75 comes with every colony. Live arrival guaranteed, or we replace it free.
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Starting out in beekeeping is exciting. It's also easy to feel overwhelmed, especially if your first colony turns out hot and defensive. Spend a summer nervous every time you lift the lid and it puts you off before you've really started. We keep things simple. You get a strong, healthy colony of calm bees on the UK's most common frame size, and we're here for every question that follows.
A nuc, short for nucleus colony, is a small but complete working colony. It has a laying queen, workers, and brood in all stages, all running together as one settled unit. Think of it as a hive that's already up and going, just at a smaller scale, ready to expand into a full brood box.
That's the appeal for a new beekeeper. Start with a nuc rather than a swarm or a package of bees and you skip the riskiest early weeks. The queen is already mated and laying, the colony already knows her, and there's brood on the frames from day one. Everything is settled and working from the moment your colony arrives.
A National nuc is simply a nuc built on National frames, the British standard.
If you keep bees on a National hive, or you're buying your first hive and want the setup most beekeepers in the UK use, this is the nuc for you.
National is the British standard. It's the most widely used hive format in the country. Equipment is easy to find, your local association will know it inside out, and you'll never struggle for spare parts or advice.
Got a Flow Hive? Flow Hives take Langstroth frames, so you'll want our Flow Hive Nucs instead. Not sure which frame size you need? Contact us before you order and we'll help you work it out.
Calm by design. Temperament is our number one breeding priority, not an afterthought. Our bees are rated 10 out of 10 for temperament by beginners, and calm enough to work in a t-shirt.
Mated F1 Buckfast queen. Every nuc is headed by a calm, proven Buckfast queen from breeding programmes with more than 75 years of combined family expertise behind them.
Free poly nuc, worth over £75. Every colony travels in a free Paynes poly nuc, ventilated and purpose-built for postal delivery. It's the safest way for your bees to reach you, and it's yours to keep.