What are mating boxes for queen bee breeding?
Compared to a normal bee hive, mating boxes for queen bees are not only much smaller, but also offer significantly less honeycomb area. In the conventional mating boxes there are only 1-6 small combs, which are filled by the worker bees. Some mating boxes also offer the possibility of enlarging them somewhat over time. This is especially useful if the animals remain in the mating box for several weeks. Here too, however, a maximum period of four weeks should not be exceeded before the queen is transferred.
Mating boxes are very inexpensive to purchase and at the same time offer a high yield. The breeding of queen be es is significantly increased by the mating boxes, so that through the resale of the animals or further breeding, the acquisition costs for the mating box are quickly recouped. In order for the breeding of queen bees with the help of m ating boxes to be successful, however, there are a number of things that need to be taken into account.
How to prepare and fill mating boxes?
Before starting to use the animals, the mating box must be prepared accordingly. If it is a used model, the remnants of old combs, remaining food and possibly dead animals should first be removed. In order to give the new bees and the queen a direction, a center wall strip is drawn into the prefabricated strips of the frames in the mating box. In this way, natural wild construction of honeycombs can be prevented and the animals clearly orient themselves to the given structure. Subsequently, sufficient feed for the entire period is placed in the mating box. For this purpose, you can also use a food bag, which should be filled completely. It is important to make sure that there is enough food in the mating box from the beginning. If there is persistent bad weather, additional feeding may be necessary.
To fill the mating box with bees and a queen bee, you should put together animals from different colonies. We recommend taking bees from the honey chamber, as these are usually still quite young and healthy animals, which are still very motivated when building combs. When the bees are placed in the mating box, the unpollinated queen bee can be inserted through the approach hole. Afterwards, the mating box is closed for the desired period of time until the queen bee is mated. In order for the bees to get used to each other, the mating box should be kept in a dark place for about 3 days. The approach hole should also be permanently closed during this time. The darkness ensures that the bees form a unit and begin to build the combs in the mating box. If this is not the case after several days, no unity could be formed among the animals - usually this indicates a wrong selection of bees, which were usually too old.
After 2-3 weeks the first mating control should take place. If in this period rather cool temperatures were the order of the day, it is also possible to wait a week longer with the mating control. However, at the latest after four weeks pins and maggots should be recognizable in the mating box. Otherwise, the mating box must be filled with a new colony.
Buy a mating box made of styrofoam® or wood
With us you receive mating boxes from Styrofoam® or wood for your bee queen breeding. We focus on different models - from rather simple variants, which offer all necessary components for the mating period, to expandable mating boxes, which can be enlarged as desired with an extension frame. A variety of different branded products and materials is very important to us. Whether you choose a wooden or a styrofoam mating box depends mainly on your own wishes. The wooden version is much more robust and easier to clean, while Styrofoam provides much better insulation, especially in cool or warm weather conditions. In addition to the mating boxes, we also offer individual feeder boxes and brood chamber boxes, which can be used as a supplement to the mating box for queen bees.
Order mating boxes online from the beekeeping professional
If you are looking for high quality and durable mating boxes, you have come to the right place. We have the common basic models, which are used for queen breeding, as well as additional attachment frames, special brood chamber frames and feed frames in our assortment. You can get mating boxes in different sizes and made of different materials. Easily adapt beekeeping to your needs - with the mating boxes from our online store. If you have any questions about the application, you can of course contact the team of the beekeeping professional by phone or by mail. We look forward to being at your side!
