# marking the queen



## Olive (May 17, 2009)

should i mark the queen? and if so, how?


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## mgmoore7 (Jul 6, 2007)

Marking the queen sure makes it easier to find her if you need to. It is not a garantee though. The marking can ware off. 

Most use a modelling marking pen or model paint with a tiny paint brush/tooth pick/etc. 

I use a queen marking case with plunger. These are available from a number of sources.
http://www.beeworks.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=10&products_id=122


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## tecumseh (Apr 26, 2005)

I use a paint pen that I obtain from a hobby supply store. you want to pick a bright color... any color that show up well. earth tones are generally not the right choice here.

next you must decide if you will catch the queen or pen her down with some device. catching the queen is good practice but can be hazardous (to the queen). for new beekeeper I suggest making a small screen 'inverted spoon' from 1/8" hardware cloth to which I glue a small wood handle. shape the hardware cloth in the opposite shape of a spoon. wrap the outer (sharp) edges with electrical tape. when you locate the queen on a frame you can pen her down with the hardware wire spoon and mark her thru the wire.

if you decide to catch??? it has often been suggested that drones make excellent subject for practice.


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## chrissv (Oct 12, 2008)

Hi,
Just a comment on the "any color that show up well" comment.
If you are going through the trouble of marking the queen, you should follow the color convention of the International Queen Marking Color Code.

More information here:
http://www.honeybeelab.com/wiki/Fact_Sheet:Honey_bee_queen_management_techniques

Cheers - Steven


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## D Coates (Jan 6, 2006)

Olive,

I'm in my fourth year but just started marking them and I strongly recommend it. I use these tools to do it as I'm not real comfortable handling a queen yet. When you pull a frame with a queen on it and she's marked, you spot her immediately. You also get to where you can better anticipate where she's going to be. Fresh eggs?, look around and she's usually within that frame or the next one.

http://www.beeworks.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=10&products_id=126

http://www.beeworks.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=10&products_id=122 (mgmoore7 posted this)


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## Olive (May 17, 2009)

okay...thanks for all the replies and links!


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## honeyshack (Jan 6, 2008)

I have some queens from hive that i bought. I did not know the year so i used orange paint on them. Then they are atleast marked for visibility.


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## BeeAware (Mar 24, 2007)

This year's color is green and I must say that it does not stand out on the queen. I have to look closely to see the dot on her thorax. I grasp the queen between my thumb and forefinger, holding her from the head end, and mark her thorax with the store bought pen.


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## Dale Hodges (Jul 13, 2007)

Practice on drones first, It'll save you some queens, 'specially if you have "fat" fingers.


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## gmcharlie (May 9, 2009)

I recomend NOT for average beeks..... to much risk of damaging her, and belive it or not its not always easier to find her.......

Should she be replaced or moves fast, you will go thru the hive several times looking for a green dot..... that may or may not be there..... I only mark for idetification of specific queens... never to make them easy to find.

Only breeders get numbers..


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

Our bee club had a workday, the guy demonstrating coaxed the queen to walk right into the marking tube on her own. He had the tube with foam plunger.


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## Tom G. Laury (May 24, 2008)

*Marking her Royal Highness*

Just don't try it in a poker game.


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## The Honey Householder (Nov 14, 2008)

*Practice on drones*

So I've got all my drones marked. Do I use a different color for the queen.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>So I've got all my drones marked. Do I use a different color for the queen.

Always mark the drones with NEXT year's color...


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## Bee Draggle (Apr 5, 2006)

If you don’t want to handle the queen do this. Catch the queen using a queen catcher hair clip and take her inside a small room. (just encase she escapes) Using a marking kit consisting of a plastic cylinder and plunger, wrap a 3” wide strip of paper around the top of the cylinder to act as a flexible collar. Let the paper extend and inch or so beyond the top of the cylinder. Now take your queen clip and insert it in the paper collar and gently crush the paper around the top of the clip while pinching open the clip itself. The queen will usually drop down into the plastic cylinder, Quickly slip off the paper collar and insert the plunger. Mark the queen in the usual way and then take her back to the hive in the marking cylinder and release her.


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