One Handed Queen Marking Cage
Single-handed push-down marking cage. Quick and gentle. Great for solo beekeepers.
- One-handed operation — push down over queen, mark through mesh, lift off
- No need to pick up the queen for marking
- Soft mesh is gentle on the queen's legs and wings
What it is
A one-handed queen marking cage — a plastic cage with a push-up plunger that catches the queen, pushes her gently against a mesh window, and holds her in position for marking with a paint pen. All operations use one hand, leaving your other hand free for the marker.
Why the one-handed design
Marking a queen is fiddly: you need to isolate her from the workers on her frame, orient her the right way, apply a dot of paint in the exact right spot, and release her before she gets stressed. A two-handed cage means setting the marker down, picking up the cage, setting the cage down, picking up the marker. The one-handed design collapses the whole sequence.
Usage notes
Find the queen on the frame first — a marked queen on a frame of bees is easier to spot than one mid-cage. Press the cage over her gently, push the plunger to trap her, mark her, release by lifting the cage straight off. Clean between queens with a soft cloth.
Compatibility
Works for any queen size and color. Pairs with queen marking pens (sold separately) in the year-appropriate color per the standard international queen color code.
