Corflute Nuc Box 5-Frame Full Depth - Flat Pack

A Flat-Pack Nuc Box That Folds in Minutes and Shrugs Off the Rain

Swarm season has a way of arriving all at once. One week nothing, the next there are two calls about a cluster on a fence and a hive at home that is bursting and needs splitting. The limiting factor is rarely bees. It is boxes, and nobody wants to buy and store a stack of timber nucs that sit empty for ten months of the year.

This flat-pack corflute nuc is the answer. It is a full depth, five-frame box made from corrugated polypropylene that folds up without tools, glue or nails, weighs next to nothing and stores flat on a shelf until you need it. Frames and bees are not included.

Built for the Jobs a Nuc Box Actually Does

Most nuc boxes do short, hard jobs: catching a swarm from a ladder, where a light box you can close one-handed is worth more than a sturdy one you cannot; holding a split while a new queen mates; banking a spare queen; moving five frames across town; and selling nucs, where the box leaves with the bees. It takes standard full depth Langstroth frames, so a frame of brood lifts straight from your brood box into the nuc and back into a full hive later.

Why Corflute Instead of Timber

Corrugated polypropylene does not absorb water, so it will not rot, swell or split the way a cheap pine nuc does after a wet spring. It never needs paint and wipes clean between colonies. It is also light, so a full nuc is mostly the weight of the frames and bees, which you notice on a ladder or when loading twenty of them.

Assembly and What Comes in the Box

The sheet is pre-scored. Fold along the lines, tuck the tabs and you have a box in a couple of minutes. Each box comes with a set of coloured entrance and vent fittings, so you can close the entrance for transport and open the vents on a warm day. Colours are picked at random, so a pack will not be a matching set.

Where It Is Not the Right Box

This is a staging box, not a permanent home. The walls are thin, so a corflute nuc in full sun on a January afternoon gets hot fast. Keep it in the shade in hot weather, and once the colony covers five frames and the queen is laying well, move it into a brood box. For overwintering a small colony in a cold area, a timber nuc or a Hive Doctor smart nuc holds warmth better. Corflute also does not like sun, so store flat sheets out of direct light and go easy with the hive tool on the lip.

One Box or Thirty

A hobbyist with two or three hives wants one or two on the shelf for swarm season and splits. The pack of 30 is for anyone selling nucs, running a queen-mating yard or buying for a club, and it stores flat in the space a single timber nuc would take.

Specifications

• Size: full depth Langstroth, 5 frames
• Material: corrugated polypropylene (corflute), lightweight and weather-resistant
• Assembly: flat pack, folds to shape along pre-scored lines, no tools, glue or nails
• Included: nuc box plus randomly selected coloured entrance and vent fittings (colours vary)
• Not included: frames, foundation or bees
• Pack options: single box or pack of 30

How many frames does the corflute nuc hold?

Five full depth Langstroth frames. It takes standard frames, so brood moves straight between your brood box and the nuc.

Do I need tools to assemble it?

No. The sheet is pre-scored, so you fold it along the lines and tuck the tabs. There is nothing to glue, nail or wait on.

How long does assembly take?

A couple of minutes per box.

Are frames or bees included?

No. Frames, foundation and bees are not included. The box comes with coloured entrance and vent fittings.

What are the coloured fittings for?

They are entrance and vent fittings, letting you close the entrance for transport and open the vents on a warm day. Colours are random.

Is corflute waterproof?

Corrugated polypropylene does not absorb water, so it will not rot, swell or split. It never needs paint and wipes clean between colonies.

Can I leave a nuc in the sun?

No. The walls are thin, so a corflute nuc in full sun on a hot afternoon gets hot fast. Keep it in the shade in hot weather.

Is it suitable for overwintering?

It is a staging box, not a permanent home. For overwintering a small colony in a cold area, a timber nuc or Hive Doctor smart nuc holds warmth better.

When should I move the colony out of the nuc?

Once the colony covers five frames and the queen is laying well, move it into a brood box.

Who is the pack of 30 for?

Anyone selling nucs, running a queen-mating yard or buying for a club. It stores flat in the space a single timber nuc would take.