Queen Excluder: How It Works, Types, and When to Use One
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A queen excluder is a flat grid of metal wire or slotted plastic placed between the brood boxes and the honey supers. Its gaps are about 4.2 mm wide: big enough for worker bees to squeeze through, too small for the larger queen. That keeps her laying in the brood boxes, so the supers above hold only honey, with no brood mixed in at harvest time. Used at the right time and in the right place, it makes extraction simpler. Used badly, it can slow honey storage or even trap the queen away from the winter cluster.
This guide explains how an excluder works, the main types, the “honey excluder” debate, where and when to put one on, and when to leave it off. If you already know you want one and just need to choose, see our list of the best queen excluders.
How a queen excluder works
It works purely on body size. A mated, laying queen has a longer abdomen and a wider thorax than a worker. Drones are larger still. The excluder’s gaps are sized to that difference:
- Gap size: most excluders have gaps between about 4.1 and 4.4 mm, with 4.2 mm (roughly 0.165 inch) the common standard.
- Workers pass through with a slight squeeze.
- Mated queens and drones cannot pass.
- Virgin and small queens sometimes can. An unmated queen is slimmer than a laying one, so an excluder is not a perfect barrier during queen rearing or right after a swarm.
Because the queen stays below, all the eggs, and therefore all the brood, stay below too. Workers carry nectar up through the grid to the supers. To understand why keeping the queen in one place matters so much to the colony, read about the role of the queen bee.
Types of queen excluder
| Type | What it is | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wire, wood-bound | Round steel wires held in a wooden frame | Rounded wires are easy on bees’ wings; frame gives a built-in bee space; very durable | Heavier and costs more; wood can warp if stored wet |
| Wire, unbound or metal-framed | Round wires in a thin metal rim | Durable; easy to scrape clean; rigid | No bee space, so bees may build burr comb against it |
| Punched metal sheet | Flat zinc or steel sheet with slots | Thin and cheap | Sharp slot edges; bends easily; bees may be slower to pass |
| Plastic | Molded sheet with slots | Cheapest; light; can be cut to fit odd hives | Warps in heat and cold; hive tools crack or gouge it; sagging can let the queen through |
Many experienced beekeepers prefer metal wire excluders. The round wires give workers smooth edges to pass over, the grid stays flat, and you can scrape off propolis and burr comb with a hive tool or clean it in hot water without damage. Plastic excluders do the job and are handy to have as spares, but they need gentler handling. If you are curious, you can even make your own queen excluder.
The “honey excluder” debate
Some beekeepers call queen excluders “honey excluders”. Their argument is that workers are reluctant to cross the grid, so they crowd the brood nest instead of storing honey above, which can cut the honey crop and push the colony toward swarming. Others use excluders on every hive for decades with no trouble.
Both camps have a point. Bees do tend to hesitate at an excluder when the super above is bare foundation. The problem mostly goes away when:
- The super has drawn comb. Bees move up readily to store nectar in comb that is already built.
- You add the excluder once bees are working the super. Put the super on without an excluder, wait until bees are drawing comb and storing nectar in it, then check the queen is below and slide the excluder in.
- A strong nectar flow is on. A colony with incoming nectar and a full brood nest will push through. Our guide to the honey flow explains the timing.
- You use a wire excluder. Many beekeepers find bees cross round wires more willingly than a flat punched sheet.
When to use a queen excluder
- During the honey flow, to keep brood out of supers you plan to extract.
- For comb honey and cut comb, where any brood or pollen in the comb spoils it.
- For queen management, such as confining the queen to find her, in swarm-control methods that separate her from the brood, or when making splits.
- On hives with honey-harvest frames, such as Flow-style supers, where brood in the harvest frames is a real problem.
When not to use one
- Over winter. The winter cluster moves upward as it eats its stores. If the queen is stuck below an excluder, the cluster can move up without her and she will die of cold. Always remove the excluder when you take off the supers in fall. See our winter preparation guide.
- On new or small colonies. A package or nuc needs to build up its brood nest first. Supers and excluders come later.
- When bees are drawing new brood boxes. The excluder goes above the brood area, not between brood boxes.
- If you run a single deep brood box. In a large colony, the queen may run out of laying space and the colony may swarm. Many beekeepers who use excluders give the queen two deeps or a deep and a medium.
Where to put a queen excluder
The excluder sits directly on top of the highest brood box, with the first honey super on top of it. On a typical Langstroth setup, from the bottom up: bottom board, one or two brood boxes, queen excluder, honey supers, inner cover, top cover.
- Find or confirm the queen first. Check she is in the brood box before you put the excluder on. If she is in the super, you will trap her above the brood nest.
- Mind the orientation. On wire excluders, lay the wires at right angles to the frames below so bees can reach every gap. Wood-bound excluders have a bee space on one side; follow the maker’s instructions for which side faces up.
- Check it sits flat. A gap at the edge or a warped corner is enough for the queen to slip past.
Drones trapped above the excluder
If the queen laid any eggs in the super before the excluder went on, or if drones wander up, they cannot get back down through the grid. With no upper entrance, trapped drones die, pile up on the excluder and can block it. Check the supers a week after fitting the excluder. If you find brood above, the queen may be up there too; find her and move her down. An upper entrance, such as a notched inner cover, gives trapped drones a way out.
Our queen excluder picks
Measure your hive first. Most excluders are made for 10-frame or 8-frame Langstroth boxes, and one that is too small leaves gaps. For a wider comparison, see our full queen excluder rankings.
1. Galvanized Metal 10-Frame Queen Excluder, 2-Pack (best wire excluder)
This is a galvanized metal wire excluder for 10-frame Langstroth hives, sold as a pair. The listing highlights rounded wires, which give workers a smooth surface to pass over instead of sharp slot edges, and a metal grid stays flat and can be scraped clean of propolis and burr comb season after season. Two in a pack covers two hives, or gives you a spare for splits and swarm-control work.
- Good: Rounded galvanized wires; durable and easy to scrape clean; two per pack
- Watch for: 10-frame size only; lay the wires across the frames below when fitting
2. witbee Metal 10-Frame Queen Excluder, 4-Pack (best value metal set)
witbee sells this metal queen excluder for 10-frame hives in a pack of four, which suits a beekeeper running several hives who wants metal rather than plastic on all of them. Metal excluders hold their shape and survive cleaning with a hive tool, so a set like this should last for many seasons. Keep spares in the shed so an excluder is always ready when you add the first super.
- Good: Four metal excluders in one pack; 10-frame size
- Watch for: The listing gives few construction details, so check the fit on your boxes when it arrives
3. Plastic 10-Frame Queen Excluder, 10-Pack (best budget bulk option)
For the lowest cost per hive, this pack contains ten plastic excluders sized for 10-frame hives, each 20.08 x 16.54 inches. Plastic can be cut to fit, which makes these useful for 8-frame boxes, nucs or odd-sized hives as well. They are light and cheap enough to keep spares everywhere. Handle them gently, since plastic can crack under a hive tool, and store them flat so they do not warp.
- Good: Ten excluders per pack; can be cut to fit other hive sizes
- Watch for: Plastic can warp or crack, and a sagging excluder can let the queen through
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a queen excluder?
No, it is optional. Plenty of beekeepers never use one and simply harvest supers that contain only honey. It is most useful if you want brood-free supers every time, produce comb honey, or run harvest frames that must not contain brood.
When should I put a queen excluder on?
When you add the first honey super, ideally once bees have started working in it and the nectar flow is on. Confirm the queen is below before you fit it.
Should I take the queen excluder off for winter?
Yes. Remove it when you take off the honey supers. A queen left below an excluder can be abandoned by the winter cluster as it moves up to reach its stores.
Is a metal or plastic queen excluder better?
Metal wire excluders last longer, stay flat and are easier to clean, and many beekeepers find bees pass through them more readily. Plastic is cheaper and can be cut to fit, but it warps and cracks more easily.
Can a queen get through a queen excluder?
A mated, laying queen should not. A small or virgin queen sometimes can, and any queen can get past a warped or damaged excluder or through a gap at the edge.
A queen excluder is a simple tool that rewards good timing. Fit it with the first super, check it after a week, and take it off in fall. For more on getting a clean crop, see our harvesting guides.
