# Marking a queen..what can you use use for "paint"



## Bird Dog One (Sep 6, 2013)

Hello Folk,
Got what I hope is a simple question. I noticed some of the queen markers are made by Tester. Is there anything I can use beside a $7 tube of marker? How about model car paint.....toxic??? Thanks in advance from unknowledgeable newbie. 
Steve Glass


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## Wildeman (Feb 15, 2013)

I go to Wal-mart and buy paint markers in the arts and craft section. They have worked well for me and are cheep.


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## beedeetee (Nov 27, 2004)

I buy testor's model paint. The little bottles that are a couple of dollars. I use a piece of grass with as small a circular stem as I can find as an applicator.


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## WilliamsHoneyBees (Feb 17, 2010)

Wildeman said:


> I go to Wal-mart and buy paint markers in the arts and craft section. They have worked well for me and are cheep.


I mark hundreds of queens a year with these.


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## Bird Dog One (Sep 6, 2013)

Thank you


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## khicks12 (Feb 28, 2012)

I like the paint bottles better than the markers anyway. I once 'primed' a marker for use then laid it down on the tailgate of my truck while I went and caught my queen. Little did I realize that lying there in the sun a bit of pressure built up in the marker. When I touched it to her thorax, a huge puddle of pain blurped all over her, coating about half of her body. Ruined a great queen - lesson learned.


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## Daniel Y (Sep 12, 2011)

I use finger nail polish.


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## Bird Dog One (Sep 6, 2013)

Thank you


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## JWChesnut (Jul 31, 2013)

The old typewriter White out -- you can get it a couple of colors if you look. It's low volatile and incredibly fast drying. I use a grass stem for an applicator. The "White Out" company must feel like the Buggy Whip manufacturer, but its still on the shelf surprisingly.

Most important advice, practice on at least 100 drones before you touch your queen.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I buy the Testor's enamel pens at the hardware store. Could be the same as the ones you're seeing.

>Most important advice, practice on at least 100 drones before you touch your queen. 

Definitely.


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## crofter (May 5, 2011)

Pinch them after you mark them or they will haunt you on the frames even if you use a non current colour! It has been suggested to use the head of a finishing nail or something 3 /32" diameter or a bit smaller, to transfer an even amount of paint to the queen. Put a bit of your marker paint on plastic or wood with the pen or brush and barely touch the nail head to the paint, then to the queen. It is an extra move but prevents those oops! blobs. The nail gives better visibility and control.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>Pinch them after you mark them or they will haunt you on the frames 

I just use the non current color on the drones (next year's color is best) and you get a lesson in how much drones drift.


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## Bird Dog One (Sep 6, 2013)

Thank you. Like shooting skeet, hitting a moving target. First time luck, ability to repeat-talent.


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## Bird Dog One (Sep 6, 2013)

Thank you.....great idea.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

> hitting a moving target

Well, when it comes to a queen, she should be held quite still... not moving...


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## kilocharlie (Dec 27, 2010)

I notice it helps considerably to know where her breathing tubes terminate on the thorax. Don't paint these! Look in The Hive and the Honeybee, most recent edition for a photo micrograph.


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## Bird Dog One (Sep 6, 2013)

Thank you.


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## Bird Dog One (Sep 6, 2013)

metaphorically speaking only:>


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## kilocharlie (Dec 27, 2010)

At the bee club meeting last week somebody had a big poster of a queen who had so much red paint, I thought they used a roller on her. 

Does anybody have experience with the numbered discs? I'm looking for a good way to hold her down while gluing the disc in place. I found it works to have a queen marking plunger made of that blue plastic, but one little bar of the screen has been cut out. I can't rely on getting her to line up with that spot, but when she does, it's easy.


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