Waggle Wedge
Waggle Wedge
An elegant solution to avoid crushing bees while manipulating the hive boxes during an inspection.
The wedge design incorporates a number of key features:
The wedge is balanced and has an integrated stopper so that it can be placed quickly and precisely in the right place on the edge of the lower box.
The angle is designed so that the wedge is simply waggled from side to side, not pulled, this allows the box above to be gently lowered without crushing bees.
The wedge incorporates a rare earth magnet embedded in it so that it can be easily attached to the neighbouring hive roof until needed. A useful solution for sloping gable roofs. Its small size allows it to be popped into a top pocket.
When opening a hive with a number of supers, the first super is removed and a wedge is placed on top of it with the next super placed on that, leaving a gap for the bees in between.
This avoids damaging any bees that may be on brace comb on the bottom of the frames underneath the super.
This is repeated until all supers are stacked. The wedges are left in place during inspection until the hive is reassembled which prevents the supers sticking one to the other, making them easy to lift
To reassemble the hive after inspection, a wedge is placed on the brood box, and the next box – super or double brood – which is inevitably very heavy, – can then be placed on top without worrying about crushing bees as the wedge creates a gap for the bees on three sides.
The beekeeper is then hands-free and can swiftly puff some smoke round the three edges, sending the bees that are crawling out back into the box. To close the gap, the wedge is waggled gently form side to side, between forefinger and thumb, not pulled, and it smoothly works its way out allowing the top box to be lowered without crushing any bees or slipping forward out of alignment.
See the Waggle Wedge in action:
