Nicot 10-frame queen excluder 425×500mm (NICOT, France) images
Nicot queen excluders for reliable isolation of the queen bee in the brood area of the hive. Two sizes of excluder for 10-frame and 12-frame hives. Nicot, France. Original.
In beekeeping, achieving high performance means controlling all the processes taking place inside the hive. During the honey flow, it is important to separate the brood part of the hive from the honey part. In hive box systems, this is very easy to do with modern queen excluders. A few weeks before the main nectar flow, all frames with brood are moved up into the upper hive boxes, while drawn comb is left below for the queen bee to lay in: in one box on Dadant 300mm frames or in two boxes on Ruta 230mm frames. The lower section with the queen bee is separated by the excluder. By the honey flow, the brood in the upper boxes emerges and the bees fill all the frames with honey. This method allows frames to be removed for honey extraction not individually, but as whole boxes, significantly reducing the beekeeper’s time and effort. In addition, for removing honey frames as whole boxes, we recommend using the modern bee escape "Rhombus".
Nicot queen excluders are made from dense plastic with a thickness of 2.5 mm, allowing bees to move between the brood and honey sections of the hive without damage or significant effort. French Nicot excluders are distinguished by high manufacturing precision and accurate dimensions. The queen bee is guaranteed to remain in the brood part of the hive for the entire period the excluder is in use. The large number of openings in the excluder gives bees greater freedom of movement and ensures free passage for bees from any bee space.
Please note that, unlike Polish or Czech excluders, the 10-frame Nicot excluders have an increased size, allowing the excluder to rest on the wall of the hive box for greater reliability and practicality in use.
To choose the excluder size, tick the required format when ordering. The price changes when the size changes.
Beekeepers often use sections of excluders to isolate queen bees where needed. For example, by closing the hive entrance with a piece of a Nicot Hahnemann excluder, the beekeeper can protect a virgin queen bee from dangerous orientation flights before mating in the first days of life, or prevent a foreign queen bee from accidentally entering a nucleus hive (nuc).
Note: drones, as well as the queen bee, cannot pass through the excluder. Only worker bees can move freely between the separated parts of the hive.
In global beekeeping, the invention of the queen excluder (Hahnemann excluder) is considered the third most important invention after the movable-frame hive and the honey extractor. Their use is essential for achieving high productivity and efficiency in the apiary.
During a season of use, bees will substantially add wax to the excluders and propolise them according to their needs in each individual hive. At the end of each season, it is recommended to clean the excluders of wax and propolis residues. Unlike other components from the company "Nicot", these excluders are denser and withstand higher temperatures. For cleaning, hot water up to 90°C or steam up to 110°C can be used. For additional disinfection, caustic soda with hot water may be used (up to 10% soda).
Manufacturer: S.A.S. NICOTPLAST, Maisod, France (Nicot™, Nicot, France).
