Queen Marking by Crown of thorns

[melon]

Am really pleased to find 3 new queens laying today, and made an attempt at marking. I use a 'crown of thorns', but find when I pop it over the queen, other bees all rush on top and make it hard to see her. I think it might be that I perhaps catch other bees with the sharp bits, and then everyone panics....any hints and tips on doing this successfully.

 

[Poly Hive]

Use your fingers. Practise on drones then kill them.

COT are lethal to queens.

PH

 

[drex]

Practice on drones!

Sometimes I too find they will rush on top of the crown of thorns, seems to be nothing to do with the way I have done it. As when inspecting, if I gently blow on them they soon move away.

Make sure you have shaken the marking pen and tested it before trapping her. Gently push the COT into the comb until queen is immobilised. Mark. Release pressure. Do not release her for another minute to allow marker to dry.

PH is quicker on the draw than me. I am fairly new and the idea of marking in the hand terrifies me. I will have to try. Have found COT easy. Not damaged a queen yet - patience is the key when placing it

 

[Poly Hive]

All it takes is a soft spot in the comb and bang one quartered queen.

I tell ya no lies, so why repeat my errors.

PH

 

[drex]

Human beings have quite a few soft spots and hard spots, and I have sliced into several of those with a scalpel, with no harm done. At least not been reported to the GMC yet!

 

[richardbees]

I cannot understand what the problem is.

Clearly identify the Q then centre her in the COT, gently push in until she's immobilised and then dab the marker on her hump and leave for a minute.....

The secret is to IGNORE everything else going on....so what if you also dab paint on a few workers?

Richard

 

[susbees]

The third way....one of those nice syringe-type tubes with the plastic strips (not the things with the wobbly wooden plunger). Warmholz (sp?) do them and I think Th0rnes do too. Easy....queen goes up, extra workers leave by bee space gaps. Mark, release a bit to dry the paint, leave on top of the frame you found her on for a minute or two then into the box.

I don't like putting my scent on queens, but I'm not doing dozens at a time...

 

[victor meldrew]

I use a crown of thorns but not after a few snorts of Nelsons' blood

The years have left me with a distinct tremor , believe me the Queen is much safer under a c.o.t. than in my shaky grasp . I'm glad I can see as Braille would be unreadable to me as the feeling in my finger tips is somewhat less than sensitive

John Wilkinson

 

[TOBY-3652]

Marked 4 new queens 2 weeks ago with c/o/t 3 laying one damaged. Im so dam clumsy. All i can say to people is be bl---y careful.

 

[melon]

Thanks, I just get in a panic when all the workers crowd on top in case they suffocate the queen.
I do mean to start practising with drones...why do you have to kill them afterwards? I'm not very good at killing things and I don't think I'd be confused between drones and queens!
I'll have to try the plunger method, as I'm not ready for handling queens this year.
I could leave queens unmarked, but it did make AS's much easier this spring....first time I've ever been able to do it properly!
Melon

 

[oliver90owner]

why do you have to kill them

Nah, practise and let 'em go. Just make sure they are a different colour than you use for your queens - ha ha!

Do loads of white ones (a favourite for many who don't colour code) and when the drones spread all your local beekeepers will be thinking they have multiple queens and won't be happy when they can't find their queen because there are loads of white spotted bees in their colony. Ha ha.

 

[Headnavigator]

I'd vote for the Tube with the foam plunger, seems by far the kindest/easiest. I bought the full set of paints when someone on here pointed out they were on offer; the black one is good for nothing but practicing on drones, with the advantage that you don't have to kill them. Wonder what their mates think of them when tarted up with paint?

 

[Chris B]

Wonder what their mates think of them when tarted up with paint?

Drag Queens

 

[richardbees]

melon

Forget the "plunger method" and use the little jars of Queen marking paint that comes with a little brush - just like a jar of nail varnish.

You can practice using the c.o.t. on your favourite pet!

richard

 

[Steve Dyer]

In these days of digital cameras is it really necessary to mark queens? I'm quite interested to know. If the queen was marked and isn't now then she has either left with a swarm or been superceded. If you have a digital photo I suspect it wouldn't be too difficult to spot a new queen? I say this because one slip of the COT or the brush and they will decide she is injured and supercede her anyway.

Best

Steve

 

[melon]

melon

Forget the "plunger method" and use the little jars of Queen marking paint that comes with a little brush - just like a jar of nail varnish.

You can practice using the c.o.t. on your favourite pet!

richard

How would the nail varnish paint be any easier than a pen? You still need to keep her still. I don't think the dogs and cats would like the COT pushed into them!

 

[melormynydd]

"In these days of digital cameras is it really necessary to mark queens?"

in my mind Yes.
the bigest reason for marking for me is to make manipulations like artificial swarms easyer . a big white mark in a sea of black bees is much easyer to find. if you have many hives and they all decide to swarm at the same time it saves a lot of time and back ache! and i allways find that when you really need to find a queen and she is un marked you can almost never find her (or i cant anyway!)

 

[Midland Beek]

....any hints and tips on doing this successfully.

Do not mark any new queen until she is surrounded by her 'own' bees. Most of all do not mark any new laying bees if she is surrounded by older bees.

 

[oliver90owner]

In these days of digital cameras

What?*!

A total waste of time, space and effort in my book. What good would that do!! By the time you go back to find her, she will have moved, so utter cr..ubbish.

The only time you need to find the queen is when you wish to manipulate her in some way. A digi camera is a fat lot of use for that.

 

[melon]

Do not mark any new queen until she is surrounded by her 'own' bees. Most of all do not mark any new laying bees if she is surrounded by older bees.

Oh dear, I'll have to see next week if queens are still there. I thought as long as they had started laying well, it would be OK to mark. There is capped brood, but I doubt many of her own baby bees have hatched yet.