Minimum number of bees to start a Nuc?

[Finsky]

the middle of March, when the maples bloom. 

Our maples bloom ih the middle of May.

I try to start protein feeding 3 weeks before willow bloom starts. It mean that first big group of bees emerge when nature gives new pollen.

The earliest time to start is when half of snow is melted. If it too cold or snow on ground,  bees cannot carry water outside, larvae will die. Often bees get a bad chalkbrood.

When mapple blooms here, I begin to enlarge my hives.  2-box hive gets it's third box and 1-box hive gets it's second box.  Fist size colonies get so much emerging bees that they can occupy one box and make it full of brood.

[Cindi]

Rick, Finsky.  I have no clue when our maples bloom.  I am a weather watcher amongst other things, but never paid attention to the tree bloom.  All I know is that our climate is temperate, we get some very cold nights and mostly warm days after the middle of February.  Our temperature is absolutely undefinitive beyond doubt.  I am not even sure what maple bloom is or what to look for.  Maybe I have seen this occurance, but do not recognize what it is.   A couple of weeks ago I sent in a picture of some pretty maple trees that had "whirlygigs" hanging down, now maybe that was indeed the maple bloom.  I am going to look at the date on this picture.  Hold on....OK, the picture that I was talking about was taken on May 23, obviously the "whirlygigs" are the seed of the flower, so I don't know when the flowers were actually forming.  Maybe I can find out, just for a point of interest.  I just go by the rule of thumb, February 14, start to feed pollen and 1:1 s.s. for brood stimulation.  Much to think about.  Great day. Cindi

[Finsky]

Rick, Finsky.  I have no clue when our maples bloom. 

Location: Maple Ridge, B.C.

Fine!