Queen excluder

nounStandard termFarming

A grid placed inside a beehive to keep the reproducing female out of the honey supers.

This flat metal or plastic screen features gaps precisely sized to let smaller worker bees pass through while blocking the larger queen and drones. Beekeepers place it between the brood chamber and the upper boxes where honey is stored. This ensures the honey frames remain free of eggs and developing larvae, making the harvest much cleaner.

Heard on the job

Throw a queen excluder on top of the second deep before you stack the honey supers.