Author Topic: 1st mark queen (Read 2878 times)

beepro · « **on:** April 01, 2018, 05:51:31 am »

Hi, All!

I usually don't mark my queens because they all died too early. And I don't have the right paint pens to do so before. After the expensive queen bee scam, yesterday I decided to mark this newly mated queen red since it is this year's queen color. I got the biggest queen marking tube made out of a medicine bottle with 2 safety pins installed. This way the queen will not be crush while marking her and in case of an accident. In my first year of rearing queens and marking them, I accidently crushed a newly laying queen without the safety pins install in the medicine marking tube. She was in shock all over! I thought she was dead but after 24 hours inside the hive somehow the bees were able to revive her. This point out to the miracle cure of the RJ.

Since I have 2 more queens to mark, I'm not sure if I should mark them both also. Should I mark them too? Then later on I can make more queens when the weather warms up even more. I finally got my set of marking pens as I've almost tried them all before. With this set of water base paint pens, I can stick a tapered toothpick inside the pen bypassing the safety valve to release the paint on the toothpick and then mark the queen's thorax without any issue. What do you think, mark or not mark them?

A mark queen this season: http://imgbox.com/pymDEWFr and http://imgbox.com/5uuMdj4p

Robo · « **Reply #1 on:** April 01, 2018, 08:39:46 am »

I always recommend marking queens, here is an old post on it -> https://beemaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=29004.msg228200#msg228200

I would also recommend doing it by hand instead of using a marking device. I find it is less stressful on the queen and beekeeper. You can practice and become proficient using drones. Here is a old video as well.

https://youtu.be/R4Sb6J_uY3E

beepro · « **Reply #2 on:** April 01, 2018, 08:58:22 pm »

So it is marking your queens can help identify the hive that swarm the most. I won't be using that for
grafting for sure. Marking my queens will also separate the new summer queens and the early Spring queens. Maybe there is
a difference between the 2 on overwintering ability. I'm planning on a big hive expansion this season. Thanks for the link.

Robo · « **Reply #3 on:** April 01, 2018, 09:02:18 pm »

Quote from: beepro on April 01, 2018, 08:58:22 pm

Maybe there is a difference between the 2 on overwintering ability.

Queens mated after the summer solstice will continue to grow brood rearing longer into the fall whereas queens mated before summer solstice will start cutting back then.

beepro · « **Reply #4 on:** April 02, 2018, 09:14:13 pm »

If I continue to feed them either the Spring or after the solstice mated queens then they all lay until the next Spring. The Italians here don't
seem to know when to stop laying with plenty of food around. The same with the Cordovan bees.

So I plan to mark one more Spring mated queen. This time it is the dinky queen.

GSF · « **Reply #5 on:** April 03, 2018, 08:16:14 am »

I agree with Robo, use your hand when marking queens. Come in from behind her and scoop your thumb up under her wing then pick her up and place her on the index finger of your other hand. She will automatically grab that finger with her feet, when she does you can hold her by her feet with her thorax exposed for you to paint. I might start back but I quit marking my queens a couple of years ago. The fifth queen I marked was the second one to take to the air. I've come to the conclusion (for me) it's too risky. There are advantages to marking though.

beepro · « **Reply #6 on:** April 04, 2018, 05:34:56 am »

When I take the queen out of the hive I use a small tweezer to pick her off the
frame. This is the most minimal disturbance to the colony. Then simply drop her into the
medicine tube for marking. She did not even notice that she got transferred into the tube. Grab her by the thorax and the other bees hardly notice at all. Afraid that I might squish her if grab by my hand. I'm too nervous for this. With the safety pins on there is more control to mark her in the tube. Not nervous at all!

Robo · « **Reply #7 on:** April 04, 2018, 10:13:31 am »

Quote from: beepro on April 04, 2018, 05:34:56 am

When I take the queen out of the hive I use a small tweezer to pick her off the
frame.

I'd be more concerned injuring her with the tweezers than with my hand. The tweezers are hard metal and put all the pressure on a small portion of the thorax vs. fingers that are soft and conform to her contour.

Quote

She did not even notice that she got transferred into the tube.

I don't think the transfer to the tube is the traumatic part for her, I'm thinking it is when she is squeezed to the point of paralyzation. Wonder if she think she is going to go through the screen like a meat grinder?

Quote

Afraid that I might squish her if grab by my hand. I'm too nervous for this.

That is why you practice with drones. I have never seen anyone unintentionally squish a bee by holding them by the thorax, it is quite hard.

BeeMaster2 · « **Reply #8 on:** April 04, 2018, 09:51:28 pm »

What Robo said X2.
Much safer using fingers that tweezers. I usually use a queen catcher to catch them, then I use a one handed queen marker to mark them.
Jim

beepro · « **Reply #9 on:** April 07, 2018, 08:52:33 pm »

The 2 safety pins just pinning her enough to not squish her against the wire screen too much. I have measure the queen size to
accommodate this small gap for marking them. Not an issue. When I don't have a pair of tweezers on hand I usually grab her by the thorax.

Van, Arkansas, USA · « **Reply #10 on:** April 07, 2018, 09:10:05 pm »

Often I mark the queen on the frame, with a queen marker pen which is prime, checked then just a quick dab on thorax. I am not even touching the queen. A few times I have had an active queen so I gently hold the queen between thumb and index finger as Robo notes and mark.
Blessings

capt44 · « **Reply #11 on:** April 13, 2018, 10:09:40 pm »

I use my fingers to hold the queen and put a dab of red paint on her thorax.
If I'm in a nuc I have a cage with spikes I place over the queen and hold her in place and mark her.
When I see eggs she gets a dab of paint.

tycrnp · « **Reply #12 on:** April 14, 2018, 12:20:32 am »

I just ordered the one-handed queen catcher and a marker....just in case I am ever actually able to find the queen.

BeeMaster2 · « **Reply #13 on:** April 14, 2018, 10:45:42 am »

TY,
I think you will like it. Be sure to practice on a lot of drones before you mark your queens.
Jim

Van, Arkansas, USA · « **Reply #14 on:** April 14, 2018, 05:09:08 pm »

Tycrnp, I know what you mean about finding the queen. Seems like every time I purposely look for a queen, she is difficult to find. The more imperative that I need to find the queen, the more difficult it is to find her.

If I am doing a random inspection, the queen gets in my way, right in the middle of a frame almost seems to be advertising her presence. :-). Just gotta laugh, that is bees for ya.

BeeMaster2 · « **Reply #15 on:** April 14, 2018, 10:07:50 pm »

When you are looking for a queen, smoke 10 minutes before you open the hive and then smoke lightly and let them calm down for a minute or so. The smoke will send the queen into hiding. I see more queens with the least amount of smoke.
I often use smoke to move the queen down below the the box I?m working in. I works pretty well.
Jim

Oldbeavo · « **Reply #16 on:** April 15, 2018, 07:03:11 pm »

Hi Van
A hint to help find your queen. we use 8 frame boxes, also single brood box with Qx, so I sort of know where the Q should be, if for the sake of description, frame 1 is closest to you.
Take out frame 2, inspect, take out frame 3 but as you do look at the face of frame 4 as some times the Q is heading down the frame to avoid the light, inspect frame 3. Then take out frame 7 and inspect, this put a shaft of light into the hive. Hopefully now you have your Q trapped on frames 4,5,and 6.
If still no success inspect the back of 1 and 8. Next check she is not running around the bottom of the hive. A friend who is 3rd generation BK says often if you are looking for a poor Q then you will find her in the bottom of the hive.
Still no Q, inspect all frames as you put them back.

tycrnp · « **Reply #17 on:** April 16, 2018, 12:25:05 am »

Quote from: sawdstmakr on April 14, 2018, 10:45:42 am

TY,
I think you will like it. Be sure to practice on a lot of drones before you mark your queens.
Jim

Jim,
I practiced on some dead bees first,

just to get the feel of the marker. I actually found the queen in TWO of my hives this weekend and successfully marked them both. Yay!!!

BeeMaster2 · « **Reply #18 on:** April 16, 2018, 07:53:19 am »

Congratulations. I still would recommend you practice on drones. There is a difference between trying to mark a live bee and a dead bee.
Jim

beepro · « **Reply #19 on:** April 19, 2018, 03:49:34 am »

Exactly, Jim. Marking an active queen versus a pin down queen inside a marking tube is not
the same. This is the main reason that I use a marking tube restricting the queen's movement so that I
can have more precise marking on her thorax without the struggling body parts to distract me. I need full
concentration on this part to give precise marking as much as possible. And a homemade marking tube can help
me on the precision of laying down the paint. The highly hygienic bees had clean up her red spot on the thorax leaving only
some slight color on her hair on the side. So next time I will mark some of her hair on the side as well.

Author Topic: 1st mark queen (Read 2878 times)

Van, Arkansas, USA

Van, Arkansas, USA