Cup-Making Equipment

Queen cell cup making tools are the items used to make cell cups, or get them ready for use, before grafting: dipping sticks and a wax-melting pot for beeswax cups, tools for fixing cups to the bar and securing holders, spacing templates and cleaning materials. The purpose of these tools is to mount clean, odourless cups of uniform size, which the bees will readily accept, firmly on the bar.

Why does cup preparation matter?

The cell cup is the starting container in which the grafted larva will develop into a queen cell. If the bees do not accept the cup, no queen emerges and no royal jelly accumulates, however young and well chosen the larva. The main factors affecting acceptance are the cup's shape and size, the cleanliness of its material and its smell. Cup-making tools bring these three factors under control.

The preparation stage also speeds up grafting: bars with cups already mounted, polished and numbered are just waiting for larvae on grafting day. This shortens the time the larvae spend exposed.

Tools for making beeswax cups

A beeswax cup is made by dipping a round-ended former into molten wax several times. The method is simple; good tools ensure the cups come out uniform and sturdy.

• Dipping stick (former): A stick of hard, non-fibrous wood whose end is neatly rounded to a diameter close to that of a natural queen cell base. The tip must have no scratches or roughness; the inner surface of the cup is a copy of this tip.
• Multiple dipping board: A holder that carries several dipping sticks side by side at equal spacing. It lets you make many cups of the same depth at once.
• Wax-melting pot: A double boiler working as a bain-marie, or a small thermostatically controlled melter. Wax is never put over a direct flame; overheated wax darkens and can catch fire.
• Cold water container: For wetting the sticks before dipping and cooling the waxed tips.
• Wax dripper: A small spoon, dropper or fine-spouted container used to drip molten wax for fixing cups to the bar.

Making cups with a dipping stick

1. Melt the wax: Heat clean wax in a bain-marie just enough to keep it molten. Beeswax melts at about 62–64 °C; do not boil it.
2. Wet the sticks: Leave the dipping sticks in cold water for a while; wax does not stick to a wet surface.
3. Dip in layers: Dip the tip of the stick into the wax and lift it out, wait a few seconds; repeat three or four times, dipping a little less deeply each time. The base will be thick and the rim thin.
4. Cool and remove: Plunge the tips into cold water and twist the cups gently off the former.
5. Sort: Melt down and reuse any cups that are holed, cracked or thin-based.

Tools for preparing plastic cups and holders

For those working with plastic cups, preparation means fixing the cups and holders to the bar and making the cups acceptable to the bees.

• Holders: Plastic bases in which the cup sits. They are fixed to the bar with a nail, small screw, wax or a slide-in slot. They let you remove a ripe cell together with its holder without crushing it.
• Spacing template: A simple jig that marks or drills the holder positions on the bar at equal intervals. Equal spacing stops ripe cells from being joined together.
• Fixing wax: In set-ups without holders, plastic cups are also fixed to the bar with a drop of molten wax.
• Cleaning brush and scraper: A soft, fine brush and a plastic scraper for removing dried wax, jelly and propolis remains from inside the cups.
• Cell protectors: Because they will later be fitted over ripe cells, their number and cleanliness are checked at the preparation stage.

Having the bees prepare plastic cups

New plastic carries factory odour and surface residue. Once the cups are mounted on the bar, they are given to a strong colony for about a day before grafting; the bees clean the cups and coat the insides with a thin layer of wax. Some producers, instead of or as well as this, brush a very thin layer of molten wax into the bottom of the cup. The frame is taken out of the colony just before grafting and used without touching the cups.

How do you set up a ready-to-graft cell cup frame? Step by step

1. Prepare the bars: Mark clean, dry bars with the spacing template.
2. Fix the holders or cups: Nail, screw or wax the holders on; fix beeswax cups with wax.
3. Fit the cups: Seat the plastic cups in the holders; check that they all sit at the same depth and stand straight.
4. Fit into the frame: Fit the bars into the grafting frame and write the batch number on the frame.
5. Give it to the bees: Put the frame into a colony the day before grafting.
6. Grafting day: Take out the frame, turn the bars over and place them on the grafting stand with the cup mouths facing up.

Safety, cleaning and storage

• Fire: Beeswax is flammable. Always melt wax in a bain-marie, never leave the melting pot unattended, and keep a fire blanket nearby.
• Burns: Molten wax causes serious skin burns; wear gloves and work away from children.
• Residue-free wax: Wax of unknown origin or rendered from old, dark combs is not used for making cups.
• Cleaning the tools: Dipping sticks are cleaned in lukewarm water and dried; the wax pot is stored with its lid on.
• Storage: Ready-made cups and holders are kept in a closed box in a cool, dark place away from chemicals.

Common mistakes

• Dipping with a dry former: The wax sticks to the former and the cup tears.
• Dipping deeply in one go: Produces a weak cup with a thin base and a thick rim.
• Leaving holders loose: The ripe cell falls off in transport.
• Grafting into new plastic without having it cleaned: The acceptance rate drops.
• Washing with a scented cleaner: The smell stays in the plastic.