Anyone make a sturdy "hairclip" queen catcher?

Oblio13 · February 21, 2016, 07:20:05 PM

I love using them, but they keep breaking at the hinge. Does anyone make one that's not cheap, brittle plastic, or do they all come from the same Chinese factory?

richter1978 · February 21, 2016, 07:23:37 PM

I don't remember which of the big companies sells them, but I have seen them made of metal. Keep looking.

richter1978 · February 21, 2016, 07:24:47 PM

Mann lake.

Oblio13 · February 21, 2016, 07:47:24 PM

I did order a Mann Lake stainless steel one. I also ordered a galvanized steel one from Walmart. Neither has arrived yet, I'll report when they do.

I like the idea of clear plastic, if anyone makes a reliable one. So far the ones I've owned have been a great concept, terribly executed.

BeeMaster2 · February 21, 2016, 08:26:17 PM

There are 2 plastic types. One has wide wings and is made of the hard brittle plastic that you referred to. The other one is a soft plexible plastic, the wings are almost straight. I think Mann Lake sells the second one. I have 3 of the soft ones. I have not broke any of the soft ones and they float around in my truck tool box and receive rough treatment. The other one lasted about a month. I keep it just to show new Beekeepers which one not to buy.
Jim

richter1978 · February 22, 2016, 08:47:45 AM

The one Jim is talking about with the wide wings also stinks because the wings stick out so far they get in the way if you need to rubber band her to a frame. Kelly also has the stainless one as well as the skinny soft one mentioned above.

GSF · February 25, 2016, 07:08:22 AM

I bought a metal one from Mann Lake. The one I got closes all the way. I've never used it but right off the bat I'm concerned about injuring the queen.

BeeMaster2 · February 25, 2016, 01:27:37 PM

Quote from: GSF on February 25, 2016, 07:08:22 AM
I bought a metal one from Mann Lake. The one I got closes all the way. I've never used it but right off the bat I'm concerned about injuring the queen.

Practice with it using drones and bees. After a little practice you will get comfortable with it.
Start with the drones then the bees. If you are rough with the bees, they will let you know to bee more careful.

Jim

GSF · February 25, 2016, 03:37:56 PM

I've used the plastic ones a ton. The problem is usually there's so many bees it's difficult to tell if the queen is in or out. The metal one I have compared to the plastic one. When closed the plastic one has an opening on the end where workers can slip through. On the metal one the ends clamp together. I'll probably never use it because of that.

texanbelchers · February 25, 2016, 07:10:39 PM

I've thought about getting one of the metal ones. Could you squeeze a small lead fishing weight on the edge to keep it apart a bit? Or, maybe a blob of solder?

Dallasbeek · February 25, 2016, 07:20:55 PM

Or drill a hole?

Dallasbeek · February 25, 2016, 07:26:54 PM

I'm looking at a plastic clip bought from Dadant. There's no hole on the end of it. There are long slit openings down both sides that measure about 1/4 inch.

GSF · February 25, 2016, 08:40:19 PM

Dallas, that's what I'm referring to on the plastic ones. You just described it better.

Dallasbeek · February 25, 2016, 08:47:06 PM

Quote from: GSF on February 25, 2016, 08:40:19 PM
Dallas, that's what I'm referring to on the plastic ones. You just described it better.

Oh, Indidn't knowbworkers could slip through those slots.

GSF · February 26, 2016, 06:27:14 AM

Dallas, you may be right. It's been a while since I used one and I was thinking the workers could get out. I might be remembering wrong.

BeeMaster2 · February 26, 2016, 01:18:22 PM

Gary,
The worker bees can definitely crawl through the slot in the edge and on the sides of the plastics hair curlers.
Jim

Oblio13 · February 28, 2016, 09:56:36 PM

I decided to take one for the team, and ordered every kind of queen catcher I could find:

Galvanized steel from Walmart: Sturdy enough, but the "lips" come together and I'm concerned that they will pinch off legs and whatever. It has holes instead of slots, so what's inside isn't as visible as it could be.

Stainless steel from Mann-Lake: I think this is a keeper. As sturdy as the Walmart galvanized steel model, but with a better design. Long slots instead of just holes, and there's a gap between the "lips" so less likely to injure bees.

"One-Handed Queen Catcher" from Mann-Lake: I have high hopes for this one. Seems sturdy. It's clear plastic, so you can easily see what you've got in there. And it's combined with a pillbox-type marking tube.

Still looking for the clear plastic "soft" hairclips that posts above mention. The pics in the catalogs all look just like the ones that snapped in my hand.

BeeMaster2 · February 29, 2016, 12:38:31 PM

Oblio,
I use the one handed queen catcher (OHQC) with a soft plastic queen catcher and it works great. I do not even try to catch a queen in the OHQC but it is great for marking them.
Jim

ldeano · February 29, 2016, 02:06:39 PM

I have gotten the plastic ones and the metal ones from Dadant. Plastic ones are junk, broke before I could even use it. The metal ones are great I have had no issues at all from them after multiple uses.

Michael Bush · February 29, 2016, 04:57:50 PM

I bought them from a variety of sources. There are little white ones with very resilient plastic that have lasted me a decade and a half now...