Queen marking - do you worry about the colour?

[RichardK]

As I understand it there is a system for which colour which year (white for 2021). Do you worry about that or simply choose a colour which you find easy to spot?

And I think you can get different nib sizes....what should I be looking for?

Thanks in advance. Queen marking possibly next weekend if things arrive.

 

[Sutty]

I use the "correct" colour as any colour seems equally easy to spot, and I won't have to trawl back through colony records to work out how old she is if I want to know.

 

[drex]

I do not use the colour system. I make a note of when she emerged in hive records. Mainly I use a Toma pink 2.5 MM. pen, but also have Posca red and yellow

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I stick to the colours, it's handy for me to know, when I find the queen how old she is as that may influence the next action. It may be fine for someone who only has a handful of hives so it's easy to remember the age of each queen, but not so easy for those with more, if everyone kept to the colour convention then at least, when someone catches a prime swrm they would know how old the queen is.
It's also handy when I go in first thing in the spring a supersedure is easy to note, and if I mark the unmarked queen in that year's colour it pretty obvious then if it turns out that the old queen is also still kicking around in there.
The only exception to this is, if I have a queen where I'm not sure of her age, I mark her pink.
I don't really find that one colour is easier to 'find' than another, I also don't tend to search for a particular 'spot' when I'm looking for a queen, I actually find that it makes queen finding harder.

 

[RichardK]

I stick to the colours, it's handy for me to know, when I find the queen how old she is as that may influence the next action. It may be fine for someone who only has a handful of hives so it's easy to remember the age of each queen, but not so easy for those with more, if everyone kept to the colour convention then at least, when someone catches a prime swrm they would know how old the queen is.
It's also handy when I go in first thing in the spring a supersedure is easy to note, and if I mark the unmarked queen in that year's colour it pretty obvious then if it turns out that the old queen is also still kicking around in there.
The only exception to this is, if I have a queen where I'm not sure of her age, I mark her pink.
I don't really find that one colour is easier to 'find' than another, I also don't tend to search for a particular 'spot' when I'm looking for a queen, I actually find that it makes queen finding harder.

And what size nib do you use - 2.5mm like drex?

 

[RichardK]

I do not use the colour system. I make a note of when she emerged in hive records. Mainly I use a Toma pink 2.5 MM. pen, but also have Posca red and yellow

Annoyingly I don't seem to be able to source Toma pens here in France...unless I want to pick up a £12 postage charge for one pen!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

And what size nib do you use - 2.5mm like drex?

yes

 

[Hachi]

No

 

[North End Bees]

Annoyingly I don't seem to be able to source Toma pens here in France...unless I want to pick up a £12 postage charge for one pen!

Can you get Uni-Paint? They're made by the same company as Posca but are oil based.

 

[RichardK]

Can you get Uni-Paint? They're made by the same company as Posca but are oil based.

From a quick look on Amazon France .... yes, it looks like it's an option! Thanks for that, will investigate more tomorrow.

 

[BugsInABox]

Can you get Uni-Paint? They're made by the same company as Posca but are oil based.

Aren’t the toma oil based also?

 

[North End Bees]

Aren’t the toma oil based also?

Yes, but he can't get Toma pens where he is.

 

[RichardK]

Yes, but he can't get Toma pens where he is.

On a French group someones just told me they use varnish....I'm guessing they're referring to nail polish. Has anyone tried using that?

 

[sean-a]

Humbrol model paint and the stalk of a peice of grass

 

[steve1958]

No. I use the same colour until the pen runs out.
My first pen was orange.
My current pen is blue.

 

[North End Bees]

On a French group someones just told me they use varnish....I'm guessing they're referring to nail polish. Has anyone tried using that?

Not personally tried, but I know a few beeks who use nail polish.
Don't use the brush that comes in the bottle though as it's way too big. Use a cocktail stick or, as others have said, a blade of grass.

 

[pargyle]

Humbrol model paint and the stalk of a peice of grass

Sooooooo .... Old School ! But it worked for years before the pens came along - and if you have a tin of Humbrol you probably have a lifetime's supply of enamel paint ... until the lid comes off in your bee box !

 

[Sutty]

End of a matchstick works too.
Take it out from under your crown board

 

[RichardK]

Not personally tried, but I know a few beeks who use nail polish.
Don't use the brush that comes in the bottle though as it's way too big. Use a cocktail stick or, as others have said, a blade of grass.

The guys qualified what he uses, it is a varnish in a bottle like nail varnish, however, it's for marking bees and available from apiculture shops....not mine of course!

 

[RichardK]

Sooooooo .... Old School ! But it worked for years before the pens came along - and if you have a tin of Humbrol you probably have a lifetime's supply of enamel paint ... until the lid comes off in your bee box !

If I had some I'd use it! I'm balking at the cost of a paint pen that I may only make two dots with! I'm a skinflint!