BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER > GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM.

Marking pens

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Occam:
Seems to me I was just reading on here about marking queens with oilbased vs water based pens but I can't find where I was reading it. The nuc I bought last year had an unmarked queen so when I wondered if they swarmed this year I couldn't easily confirm. Didn't think about it last year but I can definitely see the use now. What pens do y'all use? Buy em online, hardware store, doesn't matter? Also what color is this year? I figure I'll mark her this years color so at least next year I know.

Michael Bush:
Sometimes I settle for the acrylic ones because they are available in more colors and more vibrant (florescent) colors.  This is especially useful when I'm trying to keep track of multiple lines of queens (the more colors) and it's easier to see the florescent colors.  These you can get online or at a craft store.  But they tend to get removed by the bees too often.  So usually I go to the hardware store and buy testors enamel pens in the primary colors.  These very seldom if ever get removed by the bees.

https://bushfarms.com/beesqueenrearing.htm#colors

I'm not really doing what I said in this page on my web site anymore.  First, there is a "one handed" marking system where the catcher and the marking tube are one device.  But I don't even use that much.  What I use I can't find anymore but I would guess that you could build one with #5 hardware cloth.  What I use looks like a magnifying glass with a handle except there is no glass, just a grid of metal mesh.  You pin the queen down on the comb and mark her there.  I used to just catch them with my fingers, but as I get older I tend to get a hand tremor if I try very hard not to squeeze too hard or too soft now, so mostly I use the device.

Occam:
Awesome, thanks!

Michael Bush:
The main "secret" to marking queens, is to buy next year's color and mark a thousand drones by whatever method you decide to use.

jimineycricket:
      Michael, I believe that the device you refer to is called a crown of thorns. That is what I use. I have seen them in a bee supply catalog but I do not recall which one. I made the one I use.
      Looked again and found this: https://www.dadant.com/catalog/m01947-push-in-queen-marking-cage
      the one I use
     

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