# What is the easiest way to # Queens



## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

You could use numbered tags that are glued on the queens:
http://www.betterbee.com/Products/Queen-Rearing-and-Supplies/Queen-Numbers-Set


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

Maybe duck tape on the hive lids with sharpie pen?


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## KevinR (Apr 30, 2010)

If your going to raise queens for an extended period of time, you should probably mark your hives with numbers and log/record the queens for each...

Something like the hive-minder tags...


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## Daniel Y (Sep 12, 2011)

RayMarler said:


> Maybe duck tape on the hive lids with sharpie pen?


That woudl be great for marking hives. but not marking queens. for breeding if you are really going to control queens and know you blood lines the queen herself needs to be marked.

Along that line I am assigning a color code to each blood line. All daughters from that line will be marked with that code. I use slightly different colors than I woudl use for marking queens for sale. Yellow for example becomes gold for my breeder queens. I am not concerned about marking my breeder queens for the year I am only concerned with marking them for their blood line. Since there will be relatively few breeder queens tracking their age etc will be done in the books. I may mark the hive with the same color so that I know what color the queen should be marked. this allows me to know if I had any queens return to the wrong colony and if so what blood line she was from. I like the number tabs but they only come in a limited number of colors. That is fine if all I want to do is tag my breeder queens. but it will not work to track bloodlines. I use nail polish so it is easy to find a wide selection of colors.


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## Lauri (Feb 1, 2012)

Here are paint markers with a wide range cf colors to choose from. 
http://www.durablesupply.com/pospainmar.html

Shipping for 1 pen or 100 is the same however  ABout $11. bucks. I am getting the apple green and regular green for the yearly color to mark the age of the queens and will get other colors to also make the bloodline with a smaller additional dot or line. (Anyone local that wants to jump on my order to share shipping let me know ASAP before I place my order.)

I use the blue painters tape for writing dates and blood lines on the hives and mating nucs, replacing them in fall with aluminum tape which will holds up all winter and not fade. I occasionally get a virgin that ends up where she isn't supposed to be, so without the color code applied directly on her I am not sure of her breeding. Color codeing would help, in addition to any I sell being more trackable. If the buyer likes one specific line they can get the same line (If the paint hasn't been cleaned off by then of course)
I mark them as soon as they hatch out of the incubator, so I have the luxury of being able to mark them creativly.



















Painters tape won't pull off the finish from your hive like duct tape can . Holds up well even in wet weather, but will deteriorate and fade overwinter










I use duct tape for color coading at a glance for mating nuc management. Red tape means queenless. No nuc ever gets overlooked when restocking with virgins.











I did a test marking virgins with a disk this year. That just seems like it is pushing mating success it with the size of the disk & all. I got a 100% return on them but noticed there abdomine appeares shorter than normal. They laid well, and are overwintering well. We'll see if they are superceded earlier than those that were just marked with a pen. 










Glueing on a disk after mating is a little bit of a pain, but may be a neccesary task if it is to be done correctly. Make sure your glue it totally dry or you'll see your queen get balled by her own hive.
But there is nothing that shows up as well in a hive as a disk marked queen


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## WilliamsHoneyBees (Feb 17, 2010)

We use a combination of colored push pins and multiple mating yards. Example would be, every blue push pin in the lid of mating nucs in mating yard XYZ is from breeder queen number 46. When you mark her and cage her also write on the queen cage #46. When installing her in a hive write on the box or lid, #46 daughter. This way you can track their performance over a period of time. If you are grafting off of multiple mothers every week put your colored push pin that relates to that breeder queen on the bar containing those cells or use different colored cells for each queen.


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## Waggle (Mar 7, 2013)

Lauri, what method did you use to apply the numbered discs, and what type of glue did you use?


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

Marking pens and gadgets seem too clumsy to me. I'd rather hold the queen and know she's safe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2tSkW9YuHY


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## Adrian Quiney WI (Sep 14, 2007)

It beats me how those gnarly old fingers can be so nimble and sensitive.


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