Main Cassette for the Nicot System images
The main component of any Nicot queen rearing system, supplied with a special queen excluder grid.
The cassette is the main component in the Nicot system for queen rearing or collecting royal jelly. The cassette is designed as an isolator with a honeycomb-style surface, similar to a natural bee comb. Cell cups or strips with cell cups are inserted into the cells from the reverse side of the cassette. The cassette is closed with a special cover featuring an excluder grid, allowing bees to pass through while securely isolating the queen bee inside the cassette.
The cassette can also be used for introducing a queen bee into a hive. For queen introduction, the upper part of the cassette has a special compartment for the queen bee and another compartment for filling the passage to the queen with feed (candy). The cassette is made from high-quality food-grade plastic.
By purchasing this cassette separately together with the required number of Nicot cell cups, you will have a complete Nicot queen rearing system. This cassette can also be used with wax cell cups, which can be made by the beekeeper from melted wax and fitted into the cassette.
When using the Nicot cassette, there is no need for grafting larvae (transferring larvae with a grafting tool). The queen bee, enclosed in the cassette, lays eggs directly into the inserted cell cups. To install the cassette in a hive, a rectangle for the cassette must be cut out of the comb, and the cassette should first be placed in the hive without the queen bee. After the queen bee is introduced into the cassette, it is closed so she can lay eggs. Once the queen bee has been released, the comb is returned to the hive without the excluder grid. It is important to monitor the distance from the cassette to the neighbouring frame — a minimum of 8mm is required for bees to have free access. Larvae are transferred for queen rearing at 6–24 hours old. Under normal conditions (temperature, strength of the bee colony, availability of feed), 90–100% of larvae are accepted for queen rearing.
Hot water can be used to clean the cassette after use, but it should be remembered that wax melts at 65°C, while the plastic used in the Nicot system may deform at 75°C (according to the manufacturer, Nicot, France).
The company “Nicoplast” has been producing this cassette for almost 30 years (since 1985) under the “Nicot” trade mark. The cassettes are supplied in branded cardboard packaging of 12 pieces. Individual cassettes are sold without packaging.
Dimensions: 147 x 130 x 28 mm.
Manufacturer: S.A.S. NICOTPLAST , Maisod , France ( Nicot ™ , Nicot , France ) .
