What is a Resource Hive?

Introduced to Brushy Mountain Bee Farm's expansive inventory last year, the Resource Hive has become a very popular resource for beekeepers. The Resource Hive consists of a 10-Frame size hive body that has been divided to accommodate two 4-Frame NUCs. It also includes two additional 4-frame NUC boxes so you can expand your NUC to a second story if you need to. The bottom board that comes with it has also been adjusted to create two entrances on opposite ends for each 4-frame portion. It works with a 10-Frame Telescoping Top (sold separately) Its popularity stems from the multiple ways it can be used:

Overwintering NUCs: Trying to keep a NUC going over winter to help grow a hive in the spring? The double chamber in the Resource allows you to keep two NUCs in one hive, using heat generated by both hives to help keep the hive temperature stable through the winter. You can even alternate each story with a frame of brood and a frame of stored honey / sugar syrup (checker boarding) to help provide easily accessible food during the winter.

Boost Weaker Colonies: Needing to build up a weak colony? Condensing a weak hive down into one half of the Resource Hive allows the colony to concentrate more on rebuilding itself than expanding.

Making Spits: With the bottom hive body divided into half, it's never been easier to split a hive. Take the frames from the hive you want to split and divide them on each side of the Resource Hive. Keep note of which side of the resource hive the queen is located and begin to introduce a queen to the other half of the hive. Once the new queen has been successfully introduced to the split you can then relocate both colonies to separate hives to continue their growth.

Raising Queens: Seal off the space between the top and bottom story and you now have 4 separate 4-Frame NUC boxes you can use to raise queens. Use the NUC inner cover entrances as entrances for the 2nd story while using the bottom board entrances for the 1st story.

Learn more about the Resource Hive and order your own here.