Cell bar holder - 10pcs

Basic Brown Holder Base for Queen Rearing (10 pcs)

Do you want to rear your own high-quality queen bees at your apiary using a proven modular system without complicated manual grafting? The brown holder (base) is an absolutely essential basic component for assembling a queen rearing frame. It serves as a solid and stable foundation that you simply attach to the wooden bar of the rearing frame. You can then easily and safely snap in the holder with the queen cell cup containing the larva.

Why choose this rearing method and what are the benefits for you?

This rearing system has become the standard of modern beekeeping and is among the most widespread queen rearing methods worldwide. It fundamentally simplifies the work, eliminates stress for both the beekeeper and the bees, and dramatically increases the chance of successful queen cell acceptance. The visually demanding, delicate, and risky transfer of larvae with a grafting tool is completely eliminated. The larva is handled only indirectly throughout the entire process, which completely excludes the risk of mechanical damage or unwanted chilling.

Main advantages for your breeding:
1. Maximum gentle rearing and vital queens: Allows safe transfer of larvae at the ideal age (approximately 6–24 hours) without any contact with them. This directly and demonstrably translates into excellent condition and vitality of future queen bees.
2. Enormous time savings: You don't have to spend time searching for ideally aged larvae with a magnifying glass and risk destroying them. The entire process takes place by simply transferring compatible parts.
3. Complete modular system: The brown holder forms the solid foundation of the entire assembly. It is dimensionally identical and fully compatible with the connecting queen cell cup holder – individual parts fit together with millimeter precision.

Simple assembly and practical use

The basic holder is designed for quick and intuitive preparation of a rearing series. Simply attach the holder to the underside of the bar of the rearing frame. For secure and permanent hive box, use the 4 pre-prepared holes through which you nail the holder with small nails (ideal spacing of holders on the bar is 28–40 mm). Thanks to the holes, there is no risk of plastic cracking. The holder can also be fixed with melted beeswax if needed. The brown color of the part appears natural in the hive environment, and after mounting, you simply need to gently snap in the cup holder with the larva obtained from the main breeding cassette.

Technical specifications

Practical tip for beekeepers: We recommend purchasing more holders in reserve so you can prepare several rearing frames at once. Before the very first use, it's good to lightly rub the plastic parts with honey water or let them "absorb the hive scent" for at least 24 hours by placing them in a strong colony. Bees (especially nurse bees) then accept the artificial elements much more readily, which speeds up the care of future queens.

Professional Grafting System for Easier Queen Bee Rearing

Rearing your own queen bees is a path for beekeepers to greater self-sufficiency, better genetic control, and long-term consistent colony productivity. This well-designed grafting system significantly simplifies the entire procedure and makes queen rearing accessible even to less experienced beekeepers. It helps you obtain healthy, vital queens without lengthy and delicate manual work with larvae.

Why choose this system

• Without manual grafting: No need to work with a grafting tool or transfer tiny larvae from comb. This is especially appreciated by beekeepers with weaker eyesight or less steady hands – the work is faster, more precise, and gentler on the breeding material.

• Uniform larval age under control: You don't have to laboriously select the "right" larvae and estimate their age. Thanks to the precisely known time of egg laying by the breeder queen, you obtain larvae of the same age, which positively affects the quality of future queens.

• Gentle and safe handling: Larvae remain in the original plastic cups – during work you only transfer the cups. This minimizes the risk of damage, desiccation, and chilling during handling.

Technical specifications of the assembly

Step-by-step queen rearing guide

1. Preparation of rearing frame: Place the plastic frame with inserted cups (110 pcs) into a standard wooden frame. Depending on the chosen method, you can cut an opening in drawn comb and screw the frame to the top bar, incorporate it into the midrib during wiring, or temporarily attach it to the comb with rubber bands or string. Bees will soon firmly attach the frame themselves and naturally integrate it into the comb.

2. "Polishing" by bees: Place the prepared frame (including the transparent cover with queen excluder) into the colony for 2–3 days. Bees will coat the plastic with a thin layer of wax and propolis, thereby conditioning it, adding hive scent, and significantly improving its acceptance.

3. Isolation of breeder queen: Lightly brush the queen with honey from the queen excluder side. In a selected gentle and productive colony, locate the breeder queen, place her through the front opening into the plastic frame and close it. The queen cannot pass through the narrow openings, but workers can pass through, be in contact with her, and continuously feed her.

4. Egg-laying check: Place the frame in the center of the brood nest between combs with open brood. The queen usually lays eggs in the frame area within 2–4 hours. The next day, verify that eggs are at the bottom of the cells. If everything is in order, remove the front cover, release the queen, and return the frame so that bees continue to incubate the laid eggs.

5. Larva check: On the fourth day, remove the frame, carefully brush off the bees, and check larval hatching (after approximately 72 hours, they lie at the bottom of the cell in a slight curve). A slight sheen around the larva against the light usually means it is already in royal jelly and is being fed.

6. Assembly of rearing bar: On a warm day (or in a warm room), remove the back cover. Remove the plastic cups with larvae and insert them into yellow holders. Then snap these into the basic holders that you have previously attached to the rearing bars at 28–40 mm spacing.

7. Placement in rearing colony: Transfer the rearing frame to a prepared queenless colony or to a honey super separated from the brood chamber by a solid divider. Ideal is placement 30–60 minutes after queenlessness so that bees don't start building emergency queen cells from their own brood. Place the frame in the center of the brood body where there is stable temperature, appropriate humidity, and plenty of young bees (nurse bees).

8. Caging and emergence: On days 14–15 from egg laying, cage mature queen cells by sliding a cylindrical cell protector cage onto the cup holder. Add a small amount of honey-sugar paste or crystallized honey to the cage as first food. The young queen usually emerges on day 16.