Old Thornes plastic queen excluder

[drex]

Several years ago Thornes did a recall on some plastic queen excluders, which had the wrong gap and were not working. They replaced these free of charge. I think they were orange but cannot remember, and I think I put them aside in my shed. Does anybody know the colour for certain?
I ask because I used an old white one to make up a frame trap, to confine queen onto a frame, so that I get larvae of a known age for grafting. Went to release the queen today and she had already extricated herself. The only holes she could have got through we're in the QE itself.

 

[Quis Custodiet]

My recollection is that the Q. excluders in question were made for use in the far east and the spacing of the wires was too close for mellifera.

 

[drex]

Thanks, but does anyone know the colour? I do not want to have to remake the frame trap, if the queen got through, just because she was smaller than normal, and it was not due to me using a faulty QE.

 

[colinc]

If the spacing is too small as stated no Bees would get through


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[YorkshireBees]

Several years ago Thornes did a recall on some plastic queen excluders, which had the wrong gap and were not working. They replaced these free of charge. I think they were orange but cannot remember, and I think I put them aside in my shed. Does anybody know the colour for certain?
I ask because I used an old white one to make up a frame trap, to confine queen onto a frame, so that I get larvae of a known age for grafting. Went to release the queen today and she had already extricated herself. The only holes she could have got through we're in the QE itself.

White were the ones that they replaced for me. I have never had any orange ones.

 

[Quis Custodiet]

The one I saw was a wire excluder.....bees were trapped between the bars! Ten years or so ago.

 

[oGri]

I thought they were orange plastic

 

[betterbee]

orange plastic

 

[drex]

Thanks all. My original QE's were white and this is what I used on the frame trap. I am sure they were OK when used for original purpose. Just found two orange ones hidden at back of shed, and I think they must have been the offenders. Now use all wire on my hives, bought in sales, and frame them myself. Guess that queen is just a bit of a Houdini but performs so well.
Anyway it all worked out in the end. Took the grafts from that frame yesterday.

 

[rook66]

If the spacing is too small as stated no Bees would get through


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You could beg/borrow/shop lift a vernier and measure, the slot should be 4 mm

 

[betterbee]

use the shank of a 4 mm bit to check

 

[psafloyd]

Several years ago Thornes did a recall on some plastic queen excluders, which had the wrong gap and were not working. They replaced these free of charge. I think they were orange but cannot remember, and I think I put them aside in my shed. Does anybody know the colour for certain?
I ask because I used an old white one to make up a frame trap, to confine queen onto a frame, so that I get larvae of a known age for grafting. Went to release the queen today and she had already extricated herself. The only holes she could have got through we're in the QE itself.

Drex, I believe the original ones were ORANGE, and they were replaced with WHITE ones, which are really not very good.

They work, but I don't like the ones that lay directly on the bars and I only bought the orange ones in the first place for an emergency supply.

 

[preyingmantos]

correct they were ORANGE. bought over 100 of the things losing a few ton of honey in the process due to early swarms and blocked build up. They were replaced with some wired QEs that lasted a season at best (4 staples to hold them together? a joke)

very unhappy at this fiasco, as you can well imagine.