For uses of the three-letter abbreviation, please see NUC. Nucs, or Nucleus Colonies, are small honey bee colonies created from larger colonies. The term refers both to the smaller size box and the colony of honeybees within it.The name is derived from the fact that a nuc hive is centered around a queen - the nucleus of the honey bee colony. Layout A nuc hive has all the features of a standard 10 frame Langstroth hive except with a reduced width. The link shows a United States Department of Agriculture USDA lay out for building a nuc.^[LINK: http://www.beesource.com/plans/usda_nuc.htm] [1] Nuc Creation The nuc box, also called a nuc, is a smaller version of a normal beehive, designed to hold fewer frames.The nuc box is smaller because it is intented to contain a smaller number of honeybees, and a smaller space makes it easier for the bees to control the temperat