Frequently Asked Questions

There are two components. The first is the locator box — a briefcase-sized device the beekeeper carries to the hive, which shows the exact location of the queen on its display. The second is the tag (chip) — a micro-chip placed on the queen at birth by the queen rearer. The chip sends a signal to the locator box, and the exact location is displayed for the beekeeper.

The system finds the queen within seconds, with a 100% success rate every time. There are no false readings. You open the hive and pull out the queen from the exact location shown on the box display.

Tags are placed on the queen at birth by the queen rearer using specially made tweezers. The application is quick and simple. Tags come pre-coloured in the season colour. We provide full training and instructions to queen rearers at no cost.

Learning to use the locator is very simple and intuitive. It will take under an hour for any beekeeper to master it. We also provide training videos and direct customer support is available if needed.

Locator boxes come with a 5-year battery life and do not require charging.

No. The Crown is permanent and will not fall off during the lifespan of the queen. You only need to replace the Crown when you replace the queen. There is no need for maintenance or replacement of the Crown during the queen's lifetime.

No. There is no negative physiological or behavioural impact on the queen. The Crown does not affect health, mating, laying, behaviour, or queen acceptance.

No. There is no radioactivity involved in the technology.

Controlled scientific safety studies have been conducted by the University of Zagreb in Croatia. These studies are being finalised and are pending peer review before publishing.

Yes. The technology was field-trialled on 50+ hives in New Zealand and Europe across multiple seasons. Additionally, the University of Zagreb in Croatia conducted controlled scientific safety studies independently.

The technology has been in development and testing for 6 years, through dozens of design iterations and field trials in both New Zealand and Europe across multiple seasons.

The University of Zagreb studies are currently being finalised and are pending peer review before publishing. Results will be made available once the peer review process is complete.

If a beekeeper spends 5–10 minutes locating a queen, multiplied by thousands of hives and multiple inspections per season, the cumulative labour cost becomes substantial. Our technology reduces that search time to seconds, every time.

Yes. Faster and more reliable queen location directly speeds up requeening, splitting, and hive assessments. Inspections that previously required extended hive disturbance and experienced eyes now take seconds.

Yes. The system is simple and intuitive — any beekeeper can master it in under an hour. This means less experienced staff can confidently manage hives that previously required a senior beekeeper, allowing you to scale without proportionally scaling senior headcount.

Yes. The system is compatible with all hive types, including double brood box configurations.

Yes. You continue using your own preferred queen rearers. Tags are applied at birth by your rearers. We provide full training for the Crown application at no cost.

Yes. The technology works with double brood box configurations and shows the exact location of the queen within the hive.

You need, on average, one box per beekeeper in the field. Each hired locator box works across all of your company's hives — there is no limit per box on the number of hives it supports.

Locator boxes are $900 (+ GST if any) per box for the season, provided on a hire basis and paid for monthly for the 6 months of the beekeeping season. During the off-season you are not required to pay, as you won't be using the equipment. There is no minimum hire period. Boxes remain the property of Api Vista.

Submit the Expression of Interest form or contact us directly at sales@apivistahq.com to discuss pricing.

Crowns are $8.70 (+ GST if any) per queen — a one-time cost, not annual. You will pay to register and crown as many queens as you wish to track. Crowns are applied to queens once, at birth, by the queen rearer, and last the entire lifetime of the queen. You only need to replace a Crown when you replace the queen. You only pay once for registration of each queen.

Submit the Expression of Interest form or contact us directly at sales@apivistahq.com to discuss pricing.

Yes. All repairs and maintenance on locator boxes are handled by Api Vista at no cost. In the rare event a box breaks, we will replace it at no additional cost to you. In the event the box is lost, you will need to cover the replacement fee.

Yes. We provide all needed instructions and training to queen rearers for Crown application at no cost.

Orders open in July and close mid-August. This ensures all trackers are delivered and customers are fully supported for implementation by the end of August.

Yes. You can trial the technology on a small number of hives (minimum 30) during the 2026 season.

Because implementation and support are hands-on during the initial rollout phase, onboarding capacity for the 2026 season is limited. This ensures every customer receives proper support for a successful implementation.

Foundational customers receive: priority onboarding support, introductory pricing protection, and early access to future developments of the technology.

Customer support is NZ-based.

We provide training in the form of videos. Direct customer support is also available if needed. Training for queen rearers on Crown application is included at no cost.

Repairs and maintenance are done by us at no cost. In the rare case of a box breaking, we will immediately replace it at no additional cost to you.