Queen cage with transparent lid

Plastic Queen Cage for Shipping and Introducing Honey Bee Queens

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

The cage is designed with a separate compartment for the queen and an independent chamber for candy (honey-sugar paste). The candy plays a key role during introduction: the bees gradually chew their way through to the queen over approximately two days. During this time, the scent (pheromones) becomes unified and the colony gets accustomed to the new queen, which significantly reduces the risk of her being attacked.

Key Benefits for Beekeepers

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

Recommended Procedure for Queen Introduction

The key prerequisite is making sure the colony is truly queenless. The original queen must be removed before inserting the cage. If the colony has been queenless for more than two days, perform a thorough inspection and destroy all started queen cells. Even a single overlooked queen cell or an already emerged virgin queen can cause the bees to reject and kill the new queen inside the cage. Once you are certain, place the cage with the queen between the frames and allow the bees time for gradual release.

Technical Specifications