The value of having a resource nuc

 It is very helpful to have a resource nuc in your apiary. We tell new beekeepers that they should start with two hives for a number of reasons. One is that if your queen dies in one hive, you can take a frame of brood and eggs from the second hive to provide your queenless hive with eggs to make themselves a queen. However, if you are taking from one of your production hives, you are removing their resources to save the second hive. 

If you have a resource nuc in your apiary, your expectation of that hive is that it is for providing aid to the bigger hives.