Wow this is great!! Hes already treated them but I have all this great knowledge for March! Woohooo! Thanks again 
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Ok we have 56 degrees here in ohio today. I see very little activity in front of the nuc. Is that normal? And he said to wait 7 days before I check things out inside the hive. Is that correct? Thanks!
Yes and yes. They will cluster if the temps are that low.
By the way, I wouldnât call it a ânucâ if the box has more than 5 frames in it. Otherwise we will all be confused! 
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Awww Im sorry! Dont mean to confuse. So I sort of have a mini colony?
If you have 8 frames in an 8 frame Langstroth box, with drawn comb on each frame, you have an 8-frame hive. 
Donât be sorry, we were all beginners once! 
If you can take a photo and post it here - inside the hive (on a warm day) and outside, then we can tell you exactly what you have, from a technically correct point of view. 
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Well it is ohio we could still have 80 degrees! Will take a pic asap. As always thanks!
Help!! Turns out I had the size of my hive wrong. I have 6 frames. 1 frame of honey. 1 frame of whatever and hopefully 4 frames of bees. Posting a pic of my box. Will I be ok going i to wi ter like this?
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I think youâll be okay with some added protection, Beth. Nucs are overwintered successfully in my area where weather conditions are similar.
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I agree with @Eva, you can get your bees through the winter, but they will need some help.
What I donât have a good idea of is how much space is in that box. Six frame hive boxes are very rare, to the point that they would have to be home-made by a good carpenter. Could you measure it horizontally across the short side? If it is 14 inches wide, it will be an 8 frame box.
If it is an 8 frame box with 6 frames in it, you are going to need that follower board I mentioned above. Same is true if it is a Flow brood box. If there is too much space between the frames, they wonât do well. You need to push the frames together, so that they are âshoulder to shoulderâ, then use the follower board to fill the empty space. In the spring next year, take the follower board out and replace it with frames of fresh foundation to fill the gap.
They would probably like a more substantial roof than the âmigratory coverâ in your photo. However, before suggesting what type of roof to get, I think we need that box measurement. If it is a homemade nucleus box, you will have trouble getting a different roof. If it is a 5 frame nucleus box with 6 frames squeezed into it, that is workable. Just need a bit more information from you, I am afraid. 
The box is 11 in wide and 22 and 3/4 deep and 13 in tall. Including the bottom and lid on.
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Very interesting. I have not come across that size before. Maybe @Michael_Bush has? He has far more extensive experience of various variants of Langstroths than just about anyone on this forum in the US. 
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Itâs not a standard size. I seem to remember someone selling six frame boxes. Probably Walter T Kelley. Itâs not a likely size to make it through the winter. A small colony with ten deep frames or sixteen medium frames, full of bees and honey is what I would consider a nuc with some chance of survival. Though not as good a chance as a double deep ( 20 deep frames). BTW for future reference the vertical measurement on a bee box is called the depth. The measurement running the direction of the to bars is the length. The direction across the top bars is the width. Now is not the time to be buying a nuc. Even a full size colony has between a 50% and 90% chance of survival if you are an experienced beekeeper, depending on the severity of the winter.
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OK, donât want you to lose hope here. You can do this, you will just have to work a bit.
I canât recommend a roof etc for you, as your box is a non-standard size, but I can suggest some things to improve your beesâ chance of surviving. You can buy insulating foam board 2 inches thick. You can cut this to shape to fit all around the walls of the hive and over the roof. It only has to last through the winter, so just tape it together with duct tape. Do not block the entrance of the hive (and keep the entrance clear of snow when that happens). The benefit of insulation is that the bees will use less energy to keep warm (need less food), and will have less condensation in the hive, which is a real killer in cold winters. Here is a suitable product, but you obviously wonât need the whole sheet:
Unless you are handy with carpentry, a candy board will not be an option. If you really want to use one, I would move them to an 8-frame box. If you do that, you will also need a bottom board, inner cover and roof. I would buy a telescoping roof, they are easier for hobby beekeepers in the US. Fill the empty space in the 8 frame brood box with the follower boards I mentioned, and put the inner cover on top of the candy board if needed.
I really hope that you donât get overwhelmed with all of this. I am confident that you can be a good beekeeper, and I hope that you can be determined and continue. 
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What Dawn described is almost exactly what I do - Iâd add two things:
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that you can pick a warmer day and quick pop a sheet of newspaper on top of the frames and gently spread some plain granulated sugar on it. The bees can take that thru the winter if their stores run out.
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that you should reduce the entrance down to a 3cm opening for winter since it looks to me like itâs all the way open right now. You can notch it out if the insulation sheet you use for the front face, or cut a thin piece of it to wedge into the opening leaving the 3cm open on one side.
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Thank you dawn for the info. Yes. I had left the forum this last week because I was getting overwhelmed. I do better with 1 or 2 positive suggestions. I have come to terms with my bees may not make it. But I dont dwell on that. Im going to put all I have into trieing to get them through winter. These are the plans Im going with:
-Hubby is going to build me a candy board: because I dont want to open the hive during winter and this assures I can put enough sugar board at the top for the whole winter.
- going to build a straw shelter around the nuc box for wind protection.
- going to put 2 sheets of foam insulation under their lid. And ventilate with plugged holes in the spacer between.
-Not moving them because their will be too much space for them to heat. I feel that would be terminal for them.
I will know more of what Im working with tomarrow (wed).
Never losing hope.
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I am very glad that you came back. We want to help you with positive information and things which are manageable. I am very happy that your husband can help with building a candy board for you. I like your idea of sheltering the hive. Perfect!
Whatever happens, this colony of bees are giving you very valuable experience. Hopefully you will enjoy it enough that you would like to start a second colony next year. Many hobby beekeepers find that having 2 colonies is much easier than one, as the strong one can always be used to help out the weaker one if needed. I really hope that you will do this too, as you obviously care greatly about your bees. 
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Was very pleased at what I saw. Green dot is our queen. Not sure how many bees are here but we re beekeeping! They were not happy with me. But we got through it. Will they go back into the box at dark? Oh I had a few yellow jackets honey
putting my entrance reducer on very soon. I got to see 3 babies being born! Awesome sight!
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Yes, they will, probably before. Bearding after an inspection is very common. I see the green dot in your photo, thank you for posting it. The brood pattern is a little patchy, but nothing unusual for this time in your season.
Your plans sound great. Feeding and insulating will help. We are here for you whenever you want, and we all love to read updates!
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Heres another pic to give an idea how many there are.! Plus more in the box.IMG_20191029_161844_01|375x500
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Hey Beth, thatâs a goodly amount of bees Iâd say - hereâs to a mild winter plus your TLC pulling them thru til spring!
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