>Releasing the attendants is made more difficult with these >JZ/BZ plastic cages for a number of reasons: Interesting how opinions can very greatly about the same thing. I've actually switched to the plastic JZ/BZ cages because I like them better. I've found it easy to get the attendance (or queen) out and it fits nicely between frames without removing one. I just pop the cap, put my finger over it, hold it up to the light so I can see the queen easily though the cage and move my finger to let the attendants out when she isn't near the opening. To get the queen out without releasing the attendants (such as for marking when I can't place the queen immediately in the hive), I use a second cage. I put the two cages hole to hold, but slighly offset to the workers can't walk into the other cage, and simply line up the holes when the queen is near. Of course I've had little experience with wooden cages and find them a pain myself. (Plus I've lost more queens with the wooden type and none with the plastic type. Though the wooden ones I've had trouble with were not the 3 hole type, but rather the smaller California type where you had to pry off the screen to release the queen (no cork). Another very useful device I use when handling queens outdoors is a box with a screen on top and fabric on two sides so you can put your hands in without letting the queen out. -Tim :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info --- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::