I cannot recommend these things enough. They’re bloody marvellous. With that said, I tend to pick her up and place her in it… but it is much easier than those crappy tube marking cages. The one I have has proper QX spacing on the bars. She can be quite snuggly kept up against the QX and not wiggle about.
The marking tubes are tough and I believe they were made to be used to stick on numbers to the queen originally. That's what I use them for to hold her still enough to glue on a number disk.
Either those slats are a little further apart than usual, or the queen is slender. Wish I could attach pics of the times I've marked queens using this type of cage...
Brian from Castle Hives talked about these in one of his videos. I promptly bought one, and there's no turning back now. I'm marking all my my queens now.
I think so, David. I'm not good at picking up the queen by the wings or back legs, but have had great luck with these cages. I let the queen walk into the cage, lift it, slide the door closed, and let the workers out before pushing the sponge to the top. ~ Elisabeth
Yes I use these all the time. It’s just a case of patience- waiting for her to line up as you gradually give her less and less space. I then hold it upside down to mark so the pen doesn’t do its usual blobby mess trick.
David, nice teaching video, I agree with adding cross bars or making the bars 1 mm wider. Well it's much warmer than last week, mid 90's and heat index 103+ for the last 2 days. Expecting several more days with this heat. THANK GOD FOR BIG MAPLE SHADE TREES AND AC. 👍😎🙏
Thus is my first season and actually just got our Nuc as we had a Queen issue. Our queen wasn't marked as she emerged and killed our original queen. I was not only able to find her right off when doing our inspection today. I decided to mark her, I tried to use a tube device but opted to use just my hands. I think I prefer to use my hands less to mess with, go wrong, or drop.
I use these. I will say they have to be cleaned from time to time. When you position it over her be careful closing her up in there. If you move to fast and she's s on the frame you can squash her. They work great, tricky is right, just take your time.
David I have something similar to this except it has a crisscross pattern. I am 62 years old and very precise movements with my fingers are inaccurate and although I have never killed a queen with my finger, I can see how this is beneficial for those with finger dexterity issues.
I have one of these that is more of a bluish color instead of yellow. The spacing is better that the one you used. I prefer to grab my queens and mark them by hand, but I do use this occasionally. It’s a handy way to hold a queen for a bit if you need to.
I've got one of those but there are better devices. As you found the hardest part is getting the queen right side up and pressed against one of the slots. I find the metal cage that you press into the comb works better. I have to use gloves because stings affect me too much.
I used one for quite awhile and it worked well for me, but it takes a good bit of time and patience. I did switch to a round push-in (betterbee) press in (blueskybeesupply) one with the threads and it saves a ton of time. I probably won't switch back to this style just because of the time it takes and the chances for injury.
You have to be a lot quicker, have your paint pen ready, get her lightly held and mark her right a way and then release the presser off her right a way. Also to get her in the cage i herd her in and make sure she is on the foam before i close it because i dont want to catch her leg by accident.
I found with these they work better when you catch the queen while she is turned across the openings 90 degrees. But just like some queen excluders, a virgin queen or a newly mated small queen may slip thru.
I use one of those these days, I much prefer to pick my queens up with my hands however at 75 my hands shake a little too much for me to be comfortable picking her up with my fingers so I use one of these “One-Handed” Queen catchers. My marking pen is usually in my other hand. World good but it is slower than just using your fingers. My queens can’t get through the slots on Minne like she can on yours.
Not true I had the same problem if you look closely there's a little space that she can get inside the handle while you're trying to close her in there. Terrible product
This is literally the next step i need to do: mark my own queens. I finally started using a queen clip to isolate my queen for mite counts. I have the single plunger type.
@@beek thank you sir! Speaking to another bee keeper, she made the comment that the bees replaced her queens when they were marked or would clean off the paint. Should I wait until next spring?
I have use these but the one I have seems to have smaller openings. The queen didn't squirm thru like yours did. That being said I am getting more comfortable catching the queen by hand and marking her. A lot depends on how agitated the bees are.
I almost smashed my queen with this exact device the other day when I was trying to release her after marking her!! 😱 😰I was shaking like a leaf and then as soon as I released her into the hive the bees immediately took off her paint. 🤦🏻♀️ very difficult and nerve wracking. Won’t do that again! lol
I have one of those and I love it although I think mine has smaller spaces in it. I can gently open it enough to let the other workers out, then mark her. Slow and steady with it. It's suppose to be one handed but I have to use 2 hands haha I'm not very coordinated.
They are great. However I squished a queen trying to close the gate one day and honestly just started picking up my queens. She got caught between the door and where it closes in the groove.
I used one with as much trouble as you had. After the first time I opened the gate and my queen stuck her head through causing me to kill her. I no longer use it. Fingers for me. I marked 3 queens yesterday with no problems.
With my big old clumsy hands it’s tough for me to hold the queen. I like using the one handed queen catcher as long as you have her perpendicular to the yellow door, her thorax is exposed to mark and she can’t squeeze through like she almost did on the video.
I've been using those queen catchers for years and never had any issues with them. After I mark the queen I push the plunger down and not leave her wedged in there while the paint is drying.
Hi a newbie here, I wonder if it’s easier just to mark her while she walks around? I caught a swarm this past week and it’s my first bee hive. I would like to mark my queen so I can see her more noticeable and not to hurt her.
I got same plunger but the two pieces type with top squared pattern where is no need to line the queen parallel to the lines its just squars that match the size of the queen thorax and as im comparing, mine is much easier than this thought this one is better for one hand use , i got little anxious watching definitely it would perfect if the top is square patterned 👍🏻👍🏻
I know, I woudn't use that type. that one looks too dangerous. the one you mentioned with the rod, and then the circular kind that sticks on the frame. seems to be the better options. I know if I was using that one, she would have been a dead queen. my hands are iffy when gripping small things like that, and I don't realize my own strength sometimes. thanks for the demo/review
Those Chinese knockoffs on Amazon aren’t as good as the ones Bee Supply stores sell. The foam is too hard and it can mash the Queen. They look the same but aren’t. I pulled out the foam and replaced it with cotton balls.
Yes I don’t like that at all 😮I don’t know why people want to mark queens it’s not really a need it’s more a preference if you have day old eggs you know you got a queen i was scared watching you
Some queens are perpetually hard to spot, and marking makes it a bit easier to see her in future inspections. Some folks track the queen's age, and the color tells you what year she was born. Also, if your marked queen is of known genetics and later you find an unmarked queen in your hive, you know a usurpation or supercedure happened, and your known queen is gone.
It takes a little practice. Be Careful that bees can get caught in the sliding mechanism near the back. my first use a year ago cut a bee in half. You can push the queen right upt when the stopper stops the slider. The sponge stops her getting hurt by the spongy surface. I have no problems using it and occasionally when I forget a queen cage I use that instead just to hold her while I'm doing something. Just watch near the back when closing that a bee is not in that area.
I cannot recommend these things enough. They’re bloody marvellous. With that said, I tend to pick her up and place her in it… but it is much easier than those crappy tube marking cages.
The one I have has proper QX spacing on the bars. She can be quite snuggly kept up against the QX and not wiggle about.
The marking tubes are tough and I believe they were made to be used to stick on numbers to the queen originally. That's what I use them for to hold her still enough to glue on a number disk.
Either those slats are a little further apart than usual, or the queen is slender. Wish I could attach pics of the times I've marked queens using this type of cage...
Just caught my first swarm! It's 3x bigger than the nuc I bought! Woohoo!🎉🎉
Brian from Castle Hives talked about these in one of his videos. I promptly bought one, and there's no turning back now. I'm marking all my my queens now.
I think I just need to spend some more time using it. But I'm so old school that I just prefer to pick up my queens.
I think so, David. I'm not good at picking up the queen by the wings or back legs, but have had great luck with these cages. I let the queen walk into the cage, lift it, slide the door closed, and let the workers out before pushing the sponge to the top. ~ Elisabeth
Makes sense. I just started picking up drones for practice. Maybe I'll get the knack of picking up queens by next summer.
Yes I use these all the time. It’s just a case of patience- waiting for her to line up as you gradually give her less and less space. I then hold it upside down to mark so the pen doesn’t do its usual blobby mess trick.
David, nice teaching video, I agree with adding cross bars or making the bars 1 mm wider. Well it's much warmer than last week, mid 90's and heat index 103+ for the last 2 days. Expecting several more days with this heat. THANK GOD FOR BIG MAPLE SHADE TREES AND AC. 👍😎🙏
Thus is my first season and actually just got our Nuc as we had a Queen issue. Our queen wasn't marked as she emerged and killed our original queen. I was not only able to find her right off when doing our inspection today. I decided to mark her, I tried to use a tube device but opted to use just my hands. I think I prefer to use my hands less to mess with, go wrong, or drop.
Practice makes a master 🙂 This catcher is what I use all the time.
I use these. I will say they have to be cleaned from time to time. When you position it over her be careful closing her up in there. If you move to fast and she's s on the frame you can squash her. They work great, tricky is right, just take your time.
David
I have something similar to this except it has a crisscross pattern. I am 62 years old and very precise movements with my fingers are inaccurate and although I have never killed a queen with my finger, I can see how this is beneficial for those with finger dexterity issues.
I have one of these that is more of a bluish color instead of yellow. The spacing is better that the one you used. I prefer to grab my queens and mark them by hand, but I do use this occasionally. It’s a handy way to hold a queen for a bit if you need to.
You always handle your queens so well. It inspires me to try to become better at marking my queens.
I've got one of those but there are better devices. As you found the hardest part is getting the queen right side up and pressed against one of the slots. I find the metal cage that you press into the comb works better. I have to use gloves because stings affect me too much.
I do not have 1 and after watching all the trouble u had I dont want one. hope you have a blessed week
I used one for quite awhile and it worked well for me, but it takes a good bit of time and patience. I did switch to a round push-in (betterbee) press in (blueskybeesupply) one with the threads and it saves a ton of time. I probably won't switch back to this style just because of the time it takes and the chances for injury.
You have to be a lot quicker, have your paint pen ready, get her lightly held and mark her right a way and then release the presser off her right a way. Also to get her in the cage i herd her in and make sure she is on the foam before i close it because i dont want to catch her leg by accident.
I found with these they work better when you catch the queen while she is turned across the openings 90 degrees. But just like some queen excluders, a virgin queen or a newly mated small queen may slip thru.
This was an older queen
I used that 2 and found it stressful as well. Thanks for the video 😊 see ya tomorrow at livestream
See ya tomorrow at the livestream Brian. Here's the link for others: ua-cam.com/users/liveYXbQF0qia2U
I use one of those these days, I much prefer to pick my queens up with my hands however at 75 my hands shake a little too much for me to be comfortable picking her up with my fingers so I use one of these “One-Handed” Queen catchers. My marking pen is usually in my other hand. World good but it is slower than just using your fingers. My queens can’t get through the slots on Minne like she can on yours.
I’ve tried these as well, for larger queens they are fine. I’ve had smaller queens squeeze all the way out of the top and escape
They used to make those with a soft nylon screen. Much easier on the queen. Screen was replaceable so they didn't get clogged up.
I prefer to mark using my hands as you can definitely still hurt a queen with the one-handed queen cage and it is also another thing to forget.
Another thing for me to run over with the mower 🤣 accidentally.
I had one and the queen squished into the foam and climbed into the handle. I had to get a hack saw to get her out.
There’s no way into the handle from inside the tube. They can only get into the handle from the outside.
Not true I had the same problem if you look closely there's a little space that she can get inside the handle while you're trying to close her in there. Terrible product
This is literally the next step i need to do: mark my own queens. I finally started using a queen clip to isolate my queen for mite counts. I have the single plunger type.
You can do it, good luck.
@@beek thank you sir! Speaking to another bee keeper, she made the comment that the bees replaced her queens when they were marked or would clean off the paint. Should I wait until next spring?
I have use these but the one I have seems to have smaller openings. The queen didn't squirm thru like yours did. That being said I am getting more comfortable catching the queen by hand and marking her. A lot depends on how agitated the bees are.
I almost smashed my queen with this exact device the other day when I was trying to release her after marking her!! 😱 😰I was shaking like a leaf and then as soon as I released her into the hive the bees immediately took off her paint. 🤦🏻♀️ very difficult and nerve wracking. Won’t do that again! lol
I have one of those and I love it although I think mine has smaller spaces in it. I can gently open it enough to let the other workers out, then mark her. Slow and steady with it.
It's suppose to be one handed but I have to use 2 hands haha I'm not very coordinated.
They are great. However I squished a queen trying to close the gate one day and honestly just started picking up my queens. She got caught between the door and where it closes in the groove.
Keep practicing picking the queen up, it gets easier the more it's done.
I agree it’s probably best to just use your fingers. But mine are covered in sticky propolis.
I used one with as much trouble as you had. After the first time I opened the gate and my queen stuck her head through causing me to kill her. I no longer use it. Fingers for me. I marked 3 queens yesterday with no problems.
With my big old clumsy hands it’s tough for me to hold the queen. I like using the one handed queen catcher as long as you have her perpendicular to the yellow door, her thorax is exposed to mark and she can’t squeeze through like she almost did on the video.
They can be tricky. Bees can get through a gap when plunger is all the way down. Young queems can wriggle through top. Great tool though.
I've been using those queen catchers for years and never had any issues with them. After I mark the queen I push the plunger down and not leave her wedged in there while the paint is drying.
Hi a newbie here, I wonder if it’s easier just to mark her while she walks around? I caught a swarm this past week and it’s my first bee hive. I would like to mark my queen so I can see her more noticeable and not to hurt her.
You had my hart beating
Ive never had a queen try and squeeze through mine like that- any my bees are alittle rambunctious 😅
Looks like similar spacing though. Hmmm
I got same plunger but the two pieces type with top squared pattern where is no need to line the queen parallel to the lines its just squars that match the size of the queen thorax and as im comparing, mine is much easier than this thought this one is better for one hand use , i got little anxious watching definitely it would perfect if the top is square patterned 👍🏻👍🏻
Hands down "hands easier "
I got one through man lk it's blue in color and the bars are a little bit closer I believe. I have never had a queen do that
I know, I woudn't use that type. that one looks too dangerous. the one you mentioned with the rod, and then the circular kind that sticks on the frame. seems to be the better options. I know if I was using that one, she would have been a dead queen. my hands are iffy when gripping small things like that, and I don't realize my own strength sometimes. thanks for the demo/review
That looks like a pain in the ass and dangerous for the queen tho .
David these one-handed Queen markers are terrible when I closed the door the queen just slipped through and cut her in half
I don’t care for this kind at all. I use the “plunger” type and it works good for me.
I'm going to try it a couple more times, but not my favorite so far.
We have one but don’t like it. It would be more appropriate to call it a queen torture device!
Did you read the instructions you don't push it up from the bottom,
Those Chinese knockoffs on Amazon aren’t as good as the ones Bee Supply stores sell. The foam is too hard and it can mash the Queen. They look the same but aren’t. I pulled out the foam and replaced it with cotton balls.
I bought this one for Dadant
That doesn't look easy
Yes I don’t like that at all 😮I don’t know why people want to mark queens it’s not really a need it’s more a preference if you have day old eggs you know you got a queen i was scared watching you
Some queens are perpetually hard to spot, and marking makes it a bit easier to see her in future inspections.
Some folks track the queen's age, and the color tells you what year she was born. Also, if your marked queen is of known genetics and later you find an unmarked queen in your hive, you know a usurpation or supercedure happened, and your known queen is gone.
It takes a little practice. Be Careful that bees can get caught in the sliding mechanism near the back. my first use a year ago cut a bee in half. You can push the queen right upt when the stopper stops the slider. The sponge stops her getting hurt by the spongy surface. I have no problems using it and occasionally when I forget a queen cage I use that instead just to hold her while I'm doing something. Just watch near the back when closing that a bee is not in that area.