Hive & Housing
Queen Excluder
A slotted sheet the workers pass but the queen cannot.
The queen excluder is a sheet of parallel bars or a punched grid with gaps of about 4.2 mm. Workers pass through freely; the queen, being larger, cannot. Placed between the brood boxes and the supers, it keeps brood out of the honey you intend to harvest.
Beekeepers argue about it endlessly. The case for: clean, brood-free honey frames. The case against: it can discourage workers from moving up at all — the "honey excluder" complaint — and drones, which are also too large, can be trapped above it and die. Most beekeepers use one during a flow and take it off afterwards.
At a glance
Safety
A trapped drone above an excluder will die and can block the grid. Check the super above the excluder for trapped drones during every inspection in swarm season, and lift the excluder at the end of the flow.
Using it well
- Give bees an upper entrance above the excluder, or acceptance of the supers drops noticeably.
- Check the grid is not warped or propolised shut — either will slow workers to a crawl.
- Store excluders flat, or they bend and become difficult to seat.
- If a colony refuses to work through it for a week, take it off and try again next season.
Compatibility
Hive types
- Langstroth
- Flow
Bees
European honey bee (Apis mellifera)
Educational reference only. Hive & Honey sells no equipment and takes no sponsorship. Specifications here describe typical products in this category; check the actual figures for the item you own or intend to buy. Always follow the manufacturer's instructions and your local regulations.
Related equipment
Try it in 3D. There is an interactive simulator for this part of beekeeping. Open the Hive Builder.