Queen Confinement

For efficient Varroa Mite control in beehives when using Oxalic Acid for treatment.

Check out our Blog Post on Brood Breaks in Hives

Two size options available:
- Full Depth
- 3/4 Depth

Oxalic acid treatments do not usually kill the mites that are inside capped brood cells. There is now a very efficient and effective solution!

Lock the queen in this cage to create a brood break period. Treat the hive with Oxalic Acid while there is no capped brood and achieve a very high Varroa kill rate.

See Data Sheet of testing done on this

Oxalic acid can be applied by vaporization, fogging or by the dribble method.

Check this link for more info:-

http://scientificbeekeeping.com/oxalic-acid-questions-answers-and-more-questions-part-1-of-2-parts/

Due to its large size the bees don't feel queenless and are less likely to build queen cells. It has queen excluder sides so that nurse bees can still enter the cage and care for the queen.

There is a large opening under the top cap to release the bees when required. Only 25mm wide at the top and will fit in a standard brood box along with 10 frames with 33mm end bars. The main body of the frame is only 16mm wide so as not to interfere with brood emerging alongside.

The bottom edge is curved on the full depth cage to match the typical shape of the winter cluster.

There are many other applications.

In warmer locations, the queen can be locked up over winter to stop her laying eggs to conserve stores and to stop the Varroa mites from breeding.

Can also be used to bank an extra queen over winter when running 2 queen colonies and the bees are already familiar with 2 queens in the hive.

We recommend that clients add a small piece of wood as shown, if using the cage over winter. The wood is naturally the warmest material for the queen to rest on, while being surrounded by nurse bees.

The suggested wood dimensions as shown, are 20mm x 10mm x 110mm long.
(Tip: - The bottom bar on a beehive frame is often 20mm x 10mm section.)
Wood at 10mm thick is a firm fit, but we still recommend that one or 2 screws are fitted to keep it secure and in the best place. The top cap unclips to allow easy access for the strip of wood.

The top bar is 480mm long. Cage height is 228mm for full depth brood boxes and 175mm high for 3/4 depth.

Top quality product made in Europe from food grade polypropylene.

Stock supplied may be a different colour to what is shown in the photos.

Crafted from premium 304 grade stainless steel, our queen isolation cage sets the new standard for durability and corrosion resistance in beekeeping equipment. 

Fits three full depth frames with either 33mm or 35mm end bars.

Applications:

1. Queen Breeding: Perfect for queen breeders to ensure optimal larvae age for grafting, facilitating superior queen production.
2. Varroa Control in Warmer Climates: Ideal for limiting brood production during winter months, effectively reducing varroa mite reproduction.
3. Increased Honey Production and Queen Management: The three-frame cage revolutionizes honey production. See the procedure below.

Benefits of using the 3-frame cage during the Honey Flow:

A. Eliminates the need for a queen excluder, resulting in increased honey yield.
B. Optimizes hive resources with less brood and more nurse bees available for honey gathering or ripening.
C. Significantly reduces mite reproduction with the decreased brood area.
D. Three good brood frames are enough to sustain the hive during a honey flow period of 8 to 10 weeks.
E. At the end of the honey flow, the 3 brood frames can be removed to make a nucleus colony with the old queen.
F. A queen cell or mated queen can be introduced to the production hive for requeening purposes.
G. The production hive can be vaporized with Oxalic Acid to kill virtually every varroa mite in the hive while there is no capped brood. Super cheap & efficient with InstantVap.
H. Start the Autumn (Fall) with zero varroa mites!
I. Alternatively, the 3 brood frames can be frozen to kill the varroa mites inside the cells then added to strong healthy colonies to clean up and re-use.

Specifications.

• 109mm inside width, 121mm outside width.
• 459mm long x 242mm high.
• The top cap is 484mm long.
• The air gap in the mesh is 4.3mm. Bees can take pollen through successfully.
• Has a clip-on cap which is held firmly down when the next box or hive mat is added above it.

Internal hive dimensions must be the Langstroth standard to ensure the cage fits properly and there are no gaps for the queen to escape.

Many beekeepers ensure their queens are marked so they are easy to find for caging when required. 

 One frame cage available here.

As we see more and more varroa resistance to the synthetic miticide strips, beekeepers are turning to organic acids for successful varroa control. There is no evidence worldwide of the mites getting resistant to them. The stainless steel cages are very resilient in an acid environment and will not oxidise and deteriorate like galvanised steel products.

It pays to get quality!

Crafted from premium 304 grade stainless steel, our queen isolation cage sets the new standard for durability and corrosion resistance in beekeeping equipment. 

Fits one full depth frame with either 33mm or 35mm end bars.

Applications:

1. Queen Breeding: Perfect for queen breeders to ensure optimal larvae age for grafting, facilitating superior queen production.
2. Winter use in warmer climates: Ideal for limiting brood production during winter months, effectively reducing varroa mite reproduction. Reduces the colonies food requirements due to less brood.
3. Swarm control in Spring: The speed of colony growth can be controlled with the use of the cage at specific times to enable the colony to reach peak hive numbers at the start of the honey flow without swarming first.
4. Varroa Control: See the procedure below:-

A. Introduce a clean empty brood frame to the cage.
B. Find the queen and enclose in the cage.
C. Position the cage into the middle of the brood nest.
D. A good queen will lay in virtually every cell within 2 days.
E. After 26-28 days, there will be virtually no capped brood and all mites will be exposed to treatment. Can be 23 – 25 days if there is no drone brood.
F. Vaporize with Oxalic Acid for virtually complete mite elimination.
G. Whenever desired, the frame of brood with queen can be removed from cage and added back to brood nest.
H. The cage can be removed from the hive or left at the side of the brood box with a food frame enclosed until needed.

Specifications.

• 40mm inside width, 48mm outside width.
• 459mm long x 242mm high.
• The top cap is 484mm long.
• The air gap in the mesh is 4.3mm. Bees can take pollen through successfully.
• Has a clip-on cap which is held firmly down when the next box or hive mat is added above it.

Internal hive dimensions must be the Langstroth standard to ensure the cage fits properly and there are no gaps for the queen to escape.

Many beekeepers ensure their queens are marked so they are easy to find for caging when required. The labour cost for this procedure is negligible when compared to the cost of resurrecting colonies killed by varroa mites!

Three-frame cage available here.

As we see more and more varroa resistance to the synthetic miticide strips, beekeepers are turning to organic acids for successful varroa control. There is no evidence worldwide of the mites getting resistant to them. The stainless steel cages are very resilient in an acid environment and will not oxidise and deteriorate like galvanised steel products.

It pays to get quality!