Queen cage with transparent lid

Plastic Queen Cage for Shipping and Introducing Queen Bees

Do you need to safely transport a queen or reliably introduce her to a new colony? This proven two-piece plastic queen cage works as a practical 2-in-1 solution. During transport, it protects the queen from vibrations and mechanical damage, and when introducing to the hive, it helps ensure calm, gradual acceptance of the queen by the worker bees.

The cage is designed with a separate space for the queen and an independent chamber for candy feed. The candy plays a key role during introduction: the bees gradually chew through to the queen over approximately two days. During this time, the scent traces (pheromones) unite and the colony gets used to the new queen, which significantly reduces the risk of her being attacked.

Main Benefits for Beekeepers

Compact design: 1.5 cm thickness allows insertion directly into the bee space between frames without crushing bees and without deforming the comb.
Easy monitoring: Screen construction ensures good ventilation and allows continuous monitoring of the queen's condition.
Higher acceptance rate: Gradual release through candy increases the chance of acceptance even with sensitive colonies.

Recommended Procedure for Queen Introduction

The foundation is certainty that the colony is truly queenless. Before inserting the cage, the original queen must be removed. If the colony has been without a queen for more than two days, perform a careful inspection and destroy all queen cells. Even a single overlooked queen cell or already emerged virgin queen can cause the bees to reject the new queen and kill her in the cage. Once you are certain, insert the cage with the queen between the frames and give the bees time for gradual release.

Technical Specifications