A container for a nucleus hive of bees including a box having a polygonal shaped bottom and a plurality of side walls. Each one of the plurality of side walls extends upwardly from an edge of the polygonal shaped bottom. A side edge of each side wall is attached to a side edge of an adjacent side wall and upper edges of the side walls form an opening. The opening has an area larger than the area of the polygonal shaped bottom and a shape substantially corresponding to the polygonal shaped bottom. A hive frame support means is positioned on inner wall surfaces of a plurality of the side walls. A polygonal shaped removable lid is configured to rest upon and cover the opening. The box and lid are preferably formed from a rigid commodity grade plastic material.