Queen Rearing Frame
Assembled grafting frame with horizontal bars and cell cup holders. Hangs in a standard hive body.
- Holds 2–3 horizontal cell bars for grafted queen production
- Hangs in a standard deep body like any other frame
- Compatible with JZ BZ cell bars and most standard cell cup systems
What it is
A queen rearing frame — a deep wooden frame modified to hold cell bars (wooden bars that suspend queen cell cups) instead of foundation. The frame goes into a queenless cell-builder colony after grafting, and the bees draw the grafted cups into queen cells.
How it works in queen rearing
After you graft young larvae into cell cups and snap them onto a cell bar, the bar clips into the rearing frame, and the frame goes into the middle of a queenless colony. The colony treats the grafted larvae as emergency queen cells and draws them out over ~10 days.
Usage notes
A single rearing frame typically holds 2–3 cell bars (20–40 cell cups) — more than enough for most backyard queen-rearing operations. For larger operations, build or buy multiple frames so you can run staggered rounds.
Compatibility
Standard deep frame size — fits any 10-frame Langstroth deep box used as a cell builder. Paired with JZ's BZ's cell bars and wide-base cell cups (both sold separately on this site).
