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Author Topic: Do You Mark Your Queens?  (Read 1512 times)

Online Ben Framed

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Do You Mark Your Queens?
« on: September 14, 2019, 01:23:55 am »
I was reading some of the recent and older post and started wondering ''I wonder what beekeepers think of marking  queens'' Just for fun; do you mark your queens? Also do you have more or less than 20 hives? This may be interesting to most everyone, seeing the results? Thanks, Phillip
« Last Edit: September 14, 2019, 04:29:07 pm by Ben Framed »
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Offline Troutdog

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Re: Do You Mark Your Queens?
« Reply #1 on: September 14, 2019, 09:33:21 am »
I dont mark for fun. I mark to see what supercedure, rate is.
I run as many as 200.
I mark all qs in nucs  and for queen  orders. People appreciate that a lot.
I also mark potential breeders in separate colors for genetic line and f1 f2 etc for breeder offspring.
Qs dont like it and paint needs to be dry before release.
You will hurt some as well so be prepared for that.
I use posco acrylic psychedelic colors.

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Offline cao

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Re: Do You Mark Your Queens?
« Reply #2 on: September 14, 2019, 10:28:03 am »
Don't mark queens.  More than 20 hives.(right now about 80)

Offline The15thMember

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Re: Do You Mark Your Queens?
« Reply #3 on: September 14, 2019, 03:21:48 pm »
I have 4 hives and I do not mark my queens under normal circumstances.  I had a hive go really swarmy this spring and I did mark a queen in that hive so I'd know if I saw a queen other than her.  Other than something like that though, I don't mark queens.  I just don't need to.  I'm pretty good at finding queens, and I get in my hives often enough that I'd notice a supersedure. 
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Offline van from Arkansas

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Re: Do You Mark Your Queens?
« Reply #4 on: September 14, 2019, 04:12:00 pm »
Good afternoon, Ben, Trout, Cao, and Member.  I keep max 20 hives.  My breeder queens are naturally marked: Cordovan.  So I do not mark queens.  Italian queens are support hives.  I do have one solid black queen that I purchased.

The work is keeping hives under 20 and preventing swarming.  I breed against swarming and my best breeder queens are 3.5 years and under. 

Ben, I still have a 1 month of age, Cordovan, Thelma Lou that will be evaluated next spring.

Van
I have been around bees a long time, since birth.  I am a hobbyist so my answers often reflect this fact.  I concentrate on genetics, raise my own queens by wet graft, nicot, with natural or II breeding.  I do not sell queens, I will give queens  for free but no shipping.

Offline Beeboy01

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Re: Do You Mark Your Queens?
« Reply #5 on: September 14, 2019, 04:26:00 pm »
Five hives and don't marked my queens. I keep an eye on the brood patterns and overall characteristics of each hive and weed out the drone population of the less attractive hives. Haven't had much luck with store bought queens so I start a few nucs in the spring for replacement queens if needed.

Offline Nock

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Re: Do You Mark Your Queens?
« Reply #6 on: September 14, 2019, 06:46:00 pm »
Two hives both Q?s came marked.

Offline Barhopper

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Re: Do You Mark Your Queens?
« Reply #7 on: September 14, 2019, 08:43:40 pm »
More than 20 and I don?t mark queens.

Offline Donovan J

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Re: Do You Mark Your Queens?
« Reply #8 on: September 15, 2019, 12:14:42 am »
I have 4 hives and 4 marked queens
3rd year of beekeeping and I still have lots to learn

Offline Bushpilot

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Re: Do You Mark Your Queens?
« Reply #9 on: September 15, 2019, 01:48:17 am »
11 hives, and I don't mark them.

Offline TheHoneyPump

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Re: Do You Mark Your Queens?
« Reply #10 on: September 15, 2019, 04:21:17 am »
The queens I sell or give to the hobbyist, I always mark.  I hate getting calls about them not being able to find the queen.
The queens I sell or give to the commercial, I do not mark unless requested and agreed to a nominal add-on cost.

For my queens in my hives, I mark the best performers whom I am tracking and selecting as breeders for next year.  The mark is just so that I can see if and when she has gone missing (swarmed), or died (disease or pest), or has been naturally superseded. For the regular production hives I do not mark until they show me something exceptional.

The colour marked follows the accepted colour code standards for the year the queen was made/mated.  For 2019, that is green.  I use neon / fluorescent / sparkle versions of the required paint colour.
When the lid goes back on, the bees will spend the next 3 days undoing most of what the beekeeper just did to them.

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Do You Mark Your Queens?
« Reply #11 on: September 15, 2019, 09:11:05 pm »
I have 20 to thirty hives. Most of my queens are marked.
Jim Altmiller
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Offline Michael Bush

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Re: Do You Mark Your Queens?
« Reply #12 on: September 16, 2019, 12:06:23 pm »
The main reason to mark queens is for information.  I know how old she is by the color.  I know if she's been replaced because she's not marked.  The other less important reason is it makes her easier to find...  The only time I don't mark a queen is if she's runny and I'm afraid she'll fly.  Just mated queens who haven't settled down will sometimes fly, but they usually signal this by being runny.
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