Dot marking of Queens

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Olivia9801

House Bee
Joined
Jan 3, 2012
Messages
276
Reaction score
15
Location
Cornwall
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
7
I've only used the well known pens for marking my Queens and get disappointed by how much they fade/get chipped off. Subsequently I'm thinking of the alternative coloured dots you can buy. Has anyone used these and if so what adhesive do you use?
 
discs or Modelling paint, says on forever. Use both
 
Thornes, Abelo, both offer queen marking kits or separate sheets of each colour. Having tried both, we found the ones from Thornes were a better fit. It's fiddly but well worth it, especially with 'favourite' queens.
 
I use superglue gel to apply the discs, put some on a piece of card and apply with a cocktail stick. I found the glue that comes with the discs to be all but useless.
 
Many thanks for your replies. Glad it's a favourable marking technique. Will try next spring.
 
Whats’s th0rn3s ?
More to the point why ?

It's a throwback to a time when the ethos of the forum was strictly non-commercial - even the mere mention of a bee equipment supplier threw some members into an apoplectic fit ... and disguising the name seemed to be a way around the principle.

Not really necessary any more ....
 
More to the point why ?

It's a throwback to a time when the ethos of the forum was strictly non-commercial - even the mere mention of a bee equipment supplier threw some members into an apoplectic fit ... and disguising the name seemed to be a way around the principle.

Not really necessary any more ....
ok....i thought we weren't to use company names or it would auto correct

it was Thornes :)
 
I use superglue gel to apply the discs, put some on a piece of card and apply with a cocktail stick. I found the glue that comes with the discs to be all but useless.
YES!!!
a third of my discs came off, even after I kept the queen in her cage for five minutes to let the glue set, and then another third came off in a week or two, at the beginning of this year the white discs had been propolised so much that they are a leather tan-ish colour and now less easy to see.
 
Dab of posca works well enough for most queens, but if I really, really want to identify or use a queen to breed from, I use a numbered disc. Spot of superglue gel on thorax and I pick the discs up with the wetted tip of a modelling paintbrush. Superglue has a pretty strong smell so I cage the queen while its sets before release.
Haven't used but I understand Toma pens are good and last?
 

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