Many people start their hives by purchasing packaged bees. The main difference between a package and a NUC is that package bees need to build wax frames for the queen to lay eggs and store food, which delays colony development by weeks. In contrast, a NUC comes with about 3 pounds of bees in an already established 5-frame colony. This small colony includes a laying queen, brood in all stages of development, pollen, and honey, providing everything needed to start your hive off right. It’s common to see new bees hatching the day you receive your NUC, allowing the hive to build quickly due to the increased number of bees collecting pollen and nectar.