Complet queen cage

Queen Rearing Cage - Complete Set for Queen Breeding

The grafting system significantly simplifies the transfer of breeding material into queen cups without requiring exceptionally good eyesight or a perfectly steady hand. It is a well-thought-out solution for beekeepers who want to reduce the risk of damaging delicate larvae during grafting and increase breeding success. Thanks to precisely guided work, the stress of clumsy handling is eliminated and even less experienced breeders gain confidence in queen rearing.

Complete Incubation Set and Its Components

The set is designed for safe incubation and protection of queen cells during queen bee breeding. It consists of 4 key parts: queen cage (push-in type), queen cup, queen cup holder, and base holder (foot). The entire system is compatible with the breeding frame, facilitates breeding organization, and streamlines work during queen rearing. All components are made of high-quality, odor-neutral, and food-safe plastic that bees readily accept. Parts can be easily washed and reused, which saves costs in the long term.

Detailed Product Description and Its Use

The base consists of a classic push-in type incubation cage with a lid and holder for an artificial queen cell. Incubation cages are among the most commonly used tools in artificial queen breeding - sometimes serving directly as a working element, other times as an indispensable safeguard. If one queen were to emerge earlier than you manage to use the queen cells, she could subsequently destroy other queens still in their cells and the entire rearing would be ruined. Incubation cages reliably prevent this and thus protect your work and breeding material.

Rearing and Introducing Virgin Queens

The cage is most commonly used when rearing virgin queens. The procedure is simple: the capped queen cell is placed in the cage and the queen is allowed to emerge directly in the cage. Queens emerged this way are usually introduced into mating nucs "directly," meaning they are released directly among queenless bees after removing the original laying queen. This makes manipulation quick and practical when creating splits and when dealing with swarming tendency.

When installing the incubation cage, it is advisable to also add food for the queen in the hinged bottom. Honey-sugar paste or crystallized honey can be used. Sufficient quality food in the first hours of life will support the queen's vitality and can positively influence her further condition and trouble-free mating.

Technical Parameters

Below we provide exact dimensions of individual parts. Thanks to precise manufacturing, components easily and firmly fit together.

Professional Grafting System for Easier Queen Bee Breeding

Rearing your own queen bees brings the beekeeper greater self-sufficiency, better control over genetics, and long-term consistent colony productivity. This well-designed grafting system simplifies the entire procedure and makes queen breeding accessible even to less experienced breeders. It enables obtaining healthy and vital queens without lengthy, delicate manual work with larvae.

Why Choose This System

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

• Uniform Larval Age Under Control: The complicated search for "correct" larvae and estimation of their age is eliminated. Thanks to precisely determined 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 plastic cups and during work only the cups are transferred. This reduces the risk of damage, drying out, or chilling during handling.

Technical Parameters

Step-by-Step Queen Breeding Guide

1. Preparation of Breeding Frame: Insert the plastic frame with inserted cups (110 pcs) into a regular wooden frame. 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 secure it in 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 naturally treating it, scenting it, and accepting it better.

3. Isolation of Breeder Queen: Lightly brush the queen with honey from the queen excluder side. In a selected gentle and productive colony, find the breeder queen, insert 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 warm the laid eggs.

5. Larval Check: On the fourth day, remove the frame, carefully brush off the bees, and check whether the larvae have hatched. After approximately 72 hours, they lie at the bottom of the cell in a slight curve; a subtle sheen against the light usually indicates that the larva is already lying in royal jelly and is being fed.

6. Assembly of Grafting 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 base holders, which you have previously attached to grafting bars at 28–40 mm spacing.

7. Insertion into Cell Builder Colony: Transfer the breeding frame into a prepared queenless colony or into a honey super separated from the brood chamber by a solid divider. Ideal is insertion 30–60 minutes after dequeening, so that bees do not start building emergency queen cells from their own brood. Place the frame in the center of the brood body, where there is stable temperature and humidity and plenty of young nurse bees.

8. Caging and Emergence: On days 14–15 from egg-laying, cage mature queen cells by sliding the cylindrical incubation 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.