Become a Fall Host — Overwinter a Caucasian Nuc for 2027

🐝 New · Fall 2026 · Host Program

Become a Fall Host: Overwinter a Caucasian Nuc for 2027

This fall, CCBA members are raising one more round of queens — and we're looking for host beekeepers to grow them out. You take a Caucasian queen cell, build it into a strong mating nuc, carry it through winter, and next spring it becomes a 3-frame nuc sold to a new beekeeper.

New to the project? See what we did together this spring on the CCBA Project page →

What this round is about

Same method as the spring, aimed at a different finish line: overwintered nucs for the people just starting out.

Through the spring, our host members took capped queen cells from our Cloake-board cell builder, raised the queens in their own yards, and we tracked every one to laying. This fall round works the same way — we graft, you host — but instead of selling right away, you'll build your nucs up and overwinter them. Next spring they go to 2027 Bee School attendees and other CCBA members who are looking for a strong, locally-raised, locally-mated start.

Two beekeepers combining colonies over a sheet of newspaper to build a bee-packed cell builder — Building the cell builder: two strong colonies combined over a sheet of newspaper into one bee-packed powerhouse — the engine that feeds our grafted Caucasian cells.

What you're hosting — and why

What you're hosting: one or more mating nucs, which you work to build up strong enough to overwinter.

Why you're hosting: to produce 3-frame nucs for sale to 2027 Bee School attendees and other CCBA members — putting gentle, locally-adapted bees into the hands of new keepers, and earning a little for your trouble.

$150 per nuc

$75 to you, the host · $75 to CCBA

A finished three-frame nuc in an orange ProNuc carrier being handed to its new keeper — The finish line: a finished three-frame nuc in a ProNuc carrier — spacer frames on either side — ready for its new keeper.

What we can provide

Woodenware — if you need it, either a complete resource-hive setup or 5-frame mating nucs. We also have extra internal feeders and a limited number of plastic foundation frames.
Capped queen cells — Frosty Meadow Caucasian-line queen cell(s), plus heated carriers to move them safely to your yard.
A yard status page — your own link to track your nucs and send us updates from your phone, right in the bee yard.
Guidance whenever you want it. You're not on your own.

A resource hive set up with drawn frames and a black internal feeder — A resource hive with drawn frames and an internal feeder — the makings of a mating nuc.

Daniel settling a capped queen cell into a heated queen-cell carrier filled with wood shavings — Daniel settling a capped Caucasian cell into a heated carrier for the trip to a host's yard.

What we ask of you

Decide how many nucs you can and want to host.
Prepare your mating nucs before the queen cells are distributed.
Pick up your queen cells on distribution day and install them.
Feed the nucs continuously — a small nuc can't forage enough for itself yet.
Send periodic status updates — virgin emerged, mated, laying, and so on. The yard page makes this a few taps.

The yard page is the same tool our spring hosts used, and it kept everyone in sync with almost no back-and-forth. Tap your name, tap the box, tell us what you saw — that's it.

Screenshot of the Yard Update page showing the list of hosts to tap — Open your yard page and tap your name…

Screenshot of a host's Yard Update page showing their individual nucs and each one's status — …and you see just your own boxes, each with its current status.

Screenshot of the short Yard Update form with box number, queen status choices, date, and notes — Reporting is one short form — which box, what you saw, and any notes.

The fall timeline

FALL 2026

Host Schedule

Graft day is Sunday, August 16, 2026. Have your mating nucs provisioned by ~Aug 20, cut out any wild cells around ~Aug 25, and pick up your capped Caucasian cell on ~Aug 26 — ten days after grafting, when the cells are capped and ready. From there you're growing a queen, then a nuc, toward winter.

🔬

~Aug 16

Graft day at Frosty Meadow

🐝

~Aug 20

Provision each nuc: 2 frames bees + brood, 1 resource, a feeder

✂️

~Aug 25

Cut out ALL wild queen cells in the nuc

👑

~Aug 26

Pick up & install your queen cell

🔎

~Aug 30

Check: has the virgin emerged?

🥚

~Sep 15

Check: is she laying?

✅

~Oct 1

Confirm a good laying pattern

❄️

~Oct 30

Confirm enough bees & stores for winter

🧪

~Winter

Possible mite treatments

🍯

~Spring

Sale to 2027 keepers, routed through CCBA

All dates approximate. We'll contact each host individually when your queen cell is ready for pickup.

Why cut out the wild cells (~Aug 25)? Once you give a mating nuc frames of young brood, the bees often start their own emergency queen cells. If you leave those in, one of their virgins can emerge and destroy the Caucasian cell we give you. Clearing them the day before you install our cell makes sure the queen you raise is the one you meant to.

An opened queen cell on a frame surrounded by bees — A queen cell — the capped stage we hand you, ten days after grafting.

A newly emerged virgin queen among worker bees on the comb — A newly emerged virgin queen — the sight you're watching for around Aug 30.

After winter — the 2027 sale

We'll share more specific guidance on the sale process as we get closer to actual sales, but the short version: requests for nucs are routed through the CCBA. Buyers will be directed to hosts, who then communicate directly with the buyer about the sale and pickup. Your job between now and then is simply to bring a strong, healthy nuc through the winter.

FROSTY MEADOW