Worldwide Beekeeping
Beekeeping => Swarms, Cut Outs, Trap Outs and Bee Trees => Topic started by: LazyBkpr on May 15, 2014, 06:00:31 pm
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Last winter I ordered a few things from Mann Lake. Two of those things were two extra queen clips. I have ONE older clip. Like the new ones, it is made of plastic, and always felt flimsy, so I was a bit worried that one day it would break..
So on the first cut out I did this year, i took the two new clips.. Last comb, I see the queen, grab the clip, and reach forward to clip her.. the clip breaks in my hand...
I yell for my minion to grab the other clip, she brings it to me.. I grab it and go to clip the queen, and it breaks too.....
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs28.postimg.cc%2F6js6bi7gp%2FDSCF0415.jpg&hash=e5f59e08c45dd432633e3d1c21c7862270df3c26) (http://postimg.cc/image/6js6bi7gp/)
Both clips blew out at the hinge pin when I tried to squeeze them open...
I had to use both hands to get the queen in one of them, then hold it together while I climbed down to the box....
Fair warning if your going to buy one.. I should have bought the metal ones.
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I just received two of those from Mann last week. They seem to work well for me. Maybe you got the cheap plastic mold day. :laugh:
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I have several clear plastic ones with many past uses on them. Never had a problem.
They didn't come from ML.
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I had bought one from Brushy and crushed it in my pocket. Next one was from Kelley's and broke the ear off it some how. Bought 3 more from Brushy, the plastic seems to be a bit more softer or flexible, maybe they will last for a while. Buddy of mine had a metal one and dropped it off a ladder, bent out of shape pretty bad, must have landed just right.
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The older one I have is a bit more flexible and is still working fine, the plastic isnt as clear. These are brittle, I should have tried to open them back when I got them. Was probably a new run on a Monday that they were made.
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Last winter I ordered a few things from Mann Lake. Two of those things were two extra queen clips.
Both clips blew out at the hinge pin when I tried to squeeze them open...
Fair warning if your going to buy one.. I should have bought the metal ones.
Ordered from the same place and the exact same thing happened to me, the very first time I tried to use it. Lesson learned.
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Hey Scott, I think that JP the Beeman has the skinny on which plastic clip lasts.
I thought he said they are from Brushy Mountain.
If anyone would know, it would be Jeff.
Who else does that many removals! :)
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JP talked about his clips not too long ago and it seems his biggest point about them was that they were more narrow to fit better between frames. I think it was Brushy too.
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OK, Thanks, I'll send him a note.
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http://www.jpthebeeman.com/jpthebeeman/itemdisplay.asp?itemID=3723&retID=3668&nextID=3792
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I recently got mine off of Amazon, I'll have to check to see if they are the same ones from Brushy
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I never did like using those clips, always felt like I was going to catch part of her. I carry a roller cage in my pocket and just pick her up by the wings and put her in. I never get caught without my queen picker upper ;D
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Robo, do you have a pic of the roller cage?
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Robo, do you have a pic of the roller cage?
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.betterbee.com%2Fqr6.jpg&hash=7f5c5ce44c69bfe717f37d9b753aa827dbf335d9)
You can see ii in use in the queen marking video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4Sb6J_uY3E
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Thanks Robo! I have seen these, think I'll get one, I believe they are also on Amazon.
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I saw a friend repair a Mann Lake clip (also broken on first use) with a zip tie. That repair works well if you have the right sized zip tie. HTH :)
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These are the two I purchased on Amazon recently. They open up very easy, hardly any resistance at all, and close securely. Then I like that there is a leeway there at the opening which gives us a little more security in not squishing the queen. I haven't used them yet but I think they will do just fine.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs24.postimg.cc%2Fmiews74v5%2FDSCF9620.jpg&hash=a8064dc8b3342237173ea42890d54722dc97753c) (http://postimg.cc/image/miews74v5/)
http://www.amazon.com/Queen-Catcher-Clip-Beekeeping-BB0179/dp/B00H8Z2RB0/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1400271120&sr=8-8&keywords=queen+cages
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I was going to post a pic of the good one I have that still works, but... It looks like the ones Jen has.. sort of a milky clear colored plastic as opposed to the crystal clear ones that broke instantly..
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So I have grabbed the queen in the clip, shake out some bees with the queen. Set down the clip, put the frame back and got my paint. I picked up the clip and there was the queen stuck halfway in the clip. I need to go back and see how many supercedure cells I have.
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This is the website with the clips I posted. These were purchased on Amazon.
http://www.blueskybeesupply.com/
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I actually havent had the problem of squishing the queen in the clip. As far as I can tell by looking at this clip, it would be pretty hard to squish a bee in it.. the design is pretty straight forward, in that as it closes, any bee to the outside edge would just be pushed toward the open end, and the open end has a gap, so if it is closed on a bee it will still not crush them... the spring is so light, that you would have to actually squeeze the clip together by hand in order to do any squishing.. The bigger problem for me is my hands. If I DID actually try to catch a queen with my bare fingers, she would be maimed or killed outright.. for the same reason I cant graft. Too many injuries and accidents, broken bones and damaged nerves in the hands to do delicate work. My hands are much like my ears.. at one time they were pristine, but some idiot abused them, and now has to live with them as they are.
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I would be happy to mail one of mine to you so you can check it out. I haven't even needed a queen clip up to this point, 10 swarms later. However, there was one time that the queen lifted to fly away "nononononono!" and I caught her in mid air. And then another time when I had to kind of scoop her precariously from some bramble and stickers, bees were stinging, so those times taught me that a clip would be nice to have.