Each nuc carries three 0–1 state variables: population, brood and stores, stepped once per simulated week against a seasonal forage curve F(week). Population grows logistically toward a season-limited cap, boosted by syrup feeding and cut sharply once a nuc becomes broodbound: ΔP = 0.10·P·(cap−P)·(0.3+0.7F) + feed·0.04·(cap−P) With equalisation on, the weakest nuc each week receives a frame of brood from the strongest (visualised as an amber beam) — the deliberate fleet-balancing described in the article. Healthy nucs periodically send a virgin queen to the central mating station; a nuc that re-enters spring with population and brood both high is split (gold pulse). At the winter→spring boundary each nuc survives only if stores·(0.5+0.5·insulation) ≥ 0.32, otherwise it resets to a rebuilding state (grey pulse) — a simple model of why stores and insulation matter proportionally more for small colonies than large ones.