Queen Rearing Equipment

Queen rearing equipment covers all the tools and supplies used at every stage, from transferring larvae into cell cups and distributing ripe queen cells to mating, marking and caging young queens. Most of it is cheap and simple; what determines success is not expensive gadgets but having the equipment fully prepared for each stage, keeping it clean and using it at the right time. This page offers a checklist to help you plan equipment according to scale; each group is covered in detail on its own sub-page.

What equipment do you need for queen rearing?

Queen rearing consists of successive stages: grafting, starting and finishing, protecting and distributing ripe cells, mating and handling the queen (catching, marking, caging). Each stage requires different equipment, and a gap at one stage can waste the work of the previous one.

Equipment by scale: hobby, medium, commercial

The equipment list grows with the number of queens you want to rear in a season. Rather than buying everything at the start, it is wiser to establish a method on a small scale first and invest where a bottleneck appears.

• Hobby (a few queens for your own hives): one or two grafting frames, a few dozen plastic cell cups and holders, a flexible-tongue grafting tool, a good head torch, a few cell protectors and some split hives are enough. Comb-cutting methods can also be used instead of grafting.
• Medium scale (dozens of queens a season): for continuously rotating batches you need several grafting frames, spare bars, plenty of cell cups, a grafting stand, a lamp with a magnifier, mating nucs, shipping cages and a marking kit. At this scale, a record book is also part of the equipment.
• Commercial (hundreds of queens): standardised frames and bars, large numbers of mating nucs and their stands, an incubator, insulated carrying containers, an enclosed and humid grafting room, and supplies for caging and shipping in bulk. At this scale, compatible equipment (the same frame size, the same holder type) saves time.

Grafting equipment: from cell cups to lighting

Grafting is the transfer of a young worker larva from the comb into an artificial queen cell, that is, a cell cup (queen cup, artificial queen cell). Because the equipment at this stage touches the larva directly, it is the group that must be chosen most carefully.

• Cell cups: plastic or beeswax. Plastic cups are washed and reused; beeswax cups are readily accepted by the bees but are single-use.
• Bars and holders: cell cups are either stuck with wax directly onto bars placed horizontally in the frame, or fitted into separate plastic holders. The holder lets you carry a ripe cell without crushing it.
• Grafting tool: there are flexible-tongue (Chinese type), thin metal-tipped and plunger types. What matters is that the tip can slide under the larva together with its jelly.
• Light and magnification: a one-day-old larva is very small; a strong, cool light reaching the bottom of the cell, and a magnifier if needed, directly affect the acceptance rate.
• Grafting stand: holds the breeder comb at the right angle, frees your hands and shortens working time.

Equipment needed for cell-raising colonies

No special hive is needed for the colonies that will accept and feed the cells; standard hive parts are used in a different way.

• Queen excluder: in a queenright finisher, it keeps the queen in the lower box and safeguards the upper box containing the cells.
• Feeder: a frame feeder or top feeder; syrup and protein support must be continuous when there is no natural flow.
• Starter (swarm) box: a well-ventilated box with a mesh floor; young bees are kept queenless for a few hours and then given the cells.
• Dummy board and frame cage: used to create a temporary queenless section, or to confine the breeder queen to a particular comb to obtain larvae of the same age.

Equipment for ripe cells, mating and queen handling

Cell protectors and incubator

A cell protector fitted over a ripe cell stops an early-emerging queen from reaching the other cells. An incubator keeps cells or caged queens at a temperature close to that of the brood nest; it gives flexibility on distribution day but needs regular checks against power cuts and temperature swings. In small-scale production, an incubator is not essential if the cells are distributed on time on day 10.

Mating nucs

A mating nuc is a small colony in which the young queen emerges and goes on to mate. Mini nucs use few bees and can be set up in large numbers, but they heat up or cool down quickly and are more prone to robbing and absconding. Splits of a few frames are more forgiving and can build up once the queen starts laying. Setting the nucs out on a fixed stand with clear markings helps the queen find her own nuc on her return.

Cages and marking supplies

• Shipping and introduction cage: the queen is transported with a few attendant workers in a cage with queen candy in one compartment, and introduced to the colony.
• Queen clip: lets you pick the queen up from the comb without crushing her.
• Marking tube or cage: holds the queen still by pressing her gently against a mesh with a soft plunger; much safer than holding her by hand.
• Marking pen and numbered disc: use products made for beekeeping whose smell fades quickly; the colour is chosen according to the last digit of the year the queen emerged.

When are non-grafting systems preferred?

For producers who lack grafting skills, whose eyesight is strained or who want to work without touching the larvae at all, there are non-grafting cage systems. The breeder queen is confined for up to a day in a plastic box with holes arranged like comb cells; the eggs are laid on removable cell bases. When the eggs hatch and the larvae emerge (about four days after laying), these bases are fitted into cell cup holders and lined up on a bar.

• Pros: the larva is not damaged and does not dry out; the larval age is known exactly.
• Cons: the queen does not always lay in the box on the desired day; the system is more expensive than grafting, and the plastic parts must first be cleaned by the bees.

What should you look for when choosing equipment?

• Compatibility: the grafting frame must fit your hive's frame size, the holders your bars, and the cell cups your holders. Mixing different systems slows work down.
• Material: plastic parts must be odour-free and food-grade; before using new plastic, put it in a colony and let the bees clean it.
• Spares: the tip of the grafting tool wears, holders break and cell protectors get lost. Replacing missing items mid-season is difficult; buy spares in advance.
• Standards and records: set up a system in which every frame and nuc can be numbered; equipment is the carrier of your record system.

Cleaning, storage and hygiene

Much of this equipment comes into direct contact with larvae and queens. Residues of medicines, fuel, perfume and detergent reduce acceptance; cages and cell cups used in a diseased colony can carry disease to other colonies.

1. During the season: plastic cell cups and holders are washed in hot water and wax and propolis are scraped off; scented cleaning products are not used, or are rinsed off very thoroughly.
2. At the end of the season: all parts are cleaned and dried; combs in mating nucs are protected against wax moth.
3. Storage: in a closed, dry box protected from mice and moths; not in the same cupboard as varroa treatments and chemicals.
4. If disease is suspected: equipment used in that colony is set aside; for notifiable diseases, wait for instructions from the official veterinary service.

Common mistakes

• Underestimating lighting: a beekeeper who cannot see the larva picks older larvae; this is where queen quality is lost most.
• Using new plastic straight away: factory smell lowers acceptance.
• Leaving mating nucs until the last day: by the time the ripe cells are ready, the nucs should be set up and have been queenless for a day.
• Buying lots of equipment before settling on one system: establish a method on a small scale first, then scale up.
• Not keeping records: unnumbered frames and nucs make it impossible to track which breeder gave which result.