What does it mean to mark a Queen? It is simply placing a small dot of paint or a sticker on the thorax of the Queen. When you purchase Queens, having the Queen marked is usually an option for a small fee.
Why would you want your Queen marked? There are several reasons. One reason was very apparent this spring. With the combination of a strong colony coming out of winter and the weather, we had a lot of hives swarming. This is the natural means of the honeybee to increase the species. If your Queen was marked, you could tell if your hive swarmed or not. The old Queen (marked queen) leaves the hive with the swarm and relies on the queen cells left behind to keep the hive going. Along the same lines, if you find an unmarked queen in your hive where there was a previously marked queen, your queen was superseded. Another reason is to keep track of the age of the Queen. There is an international color code system, with a different color for every 5 years. Since a queen lives 3-5 years, the different colors will not conflict. This is helpful when making splits and re-queening a hive. Younger queens are less likely to swarm and are more productive layers. Finally, some people find it easier to locate the queen when she has a dot of paint on her.
OK, you have decided to mark your queens. How do you do it? To capture the queen, there are numerous devices for sale. There’s the hairclip. There’s a one-handed marking tube/capture device. You can use a marking tube, or simply use your fingers and gently hold the queen by the thorax. Never hold the queen by the abdomen. To mark the queens, there are paint pens available in white, yellow, red, green, and blue. The colors represent the last digit of the year for the birth of the queen.
- White – 1 and 6
- Yellow- 2 and 7
- Red – 3 and 8
- Green – 4 and 9
- Blue – 5 and 0
For example, this year-2021, the color to mark your queen is white. To help remember the order of colors/ years – Always start with year 1 and the mnemonic phrase of ‘Will You Raise Good Bees?‘
Some tips for marking queens. Sometimes the paint in the paint pens comes out too quickly. I always brush the tip of the pen against some woodenware to remove excess paint. I then put a small dab on the queen’s thorax. I learned that one the hard way. I find the marking tube with a soft plunger works best for me in capturing and holding the queen. However, holding a paint pen in one hand and pushing up on the plunger to pin the queen against the screen in the other hand. Don’t put too much pressure on the plunger. I learned that one the hard way too. Finally, however you capture and hold the queen – using a device or your fingers, practice on drones. They don’t sting and you can mark as many as you want to perfect your own technique.
By Bill OHern
