Queen Marking

[Frenchie]

Probably not a big deal for you guys,but as a newbie who has only had bees for 4 weeks found the Queen today and got her marked.Very satisfying.

 

[stilllearning]

well done mate
did you use the crown of thorns or did you pick her up ? if not the latter try practicing on drones, then you'll be even more satisfied

 

[Frenchie]

Used a plastic tube with a little foam plunger,not sure what it's called.Very gentle and worked really well.

 

[stilllearning]

i think its called.......a plastic tube with a foam plunger never used one but have heard they're very good

 

[Stephenw]

Congrats. Newbie here aswell. Today I purchased press in cage and white marker so plan to mark queen next time. I havnt saw her yet and I have been beekeeping a short time lol so hard to find.


Steve

 

[nonstandard]

I have now successfully marked 4 queens with the plunger system, dead easy, put the tube over the queen, she climbs up into the tube, stick the plunger in, trap her gently, dab her, give her a moment to dry and let her out, sorted

 

[thedeaddiplomat]

YOu know how to make a chap jealous!

I spent over an hour on Wednesday going through one of my hives three times to find the (unmarked Queen) so I could do an AS. Never did find her. Will have to try again today - if she has not already scarpered!!

 

[Stephenw]

Hi again. Tried looking for the queen today to mark her but couldnt find her. So hard I really need to sets of eyes. I think I am probably looking too hard because I havnt saw one in real life before lol. Any tips on looking for the queen?


Steve

 

[Foxylad]

Find eggs, she's be not far away.

 

[enrico]

When you lift a frame out hold it horizontally over the hive. Slightly tip it back wards and read it from top to bottom like a book. then lower your left hand, so that the frame is vertical with the bottom facing the right. Now turn it gently so that the bottom is facing to the left and lift you left hand again. The frame is now upside down but you are looking at the other side. Tip it back again slightly Once again read it like a book from top to bottom. Your eye will rest on unusual bees, usually drones, but with luck one will be a queen. Don't try and study every bee you will be there for years!. Now ... this is the important part, turn the frame again just like you did the first time but this time immediately look round the edges and at any holes in the wax. the queen will always try to go to the dark side so this last twist will catch her out!
Do this with every frame. The chances are she won't be on a frame with food, the chances are she will be on a center frame with eggs the chances are she will be on a noticeably quieter frame than most.
Try and look for her when bees are out flying, I find between 10 and 11 am good on a warm day as the first batch of foragers will have left!
If you want to reduce the bees even more then move the brood to a different location while you look for her so that flying bees don't return but I don't advise this for a newbee.
You will find that over the years you nearly always see her by accident, your eye gets trained to spot the unusual. Finally when you find her marke her with eco white tipex. It has a soft pad end, drys quickly, is water based and lasts as long as the queen. As a newbee don't worry too much about colours, blue can be hard to spot even at the best of times! Luckily this years is white anyway.
Good luck
E

 

[janandmaxbee]

I know how you felt - found my first queen and marked her a few weeks ago - not so many bees in the hive then, so I did have a sporting chance - but still feel very proud. J

 

[Nose Ma]

Thanks for the queen finding tips - I always struggle, and rarely succeed in seeing her. I'll try your tips.

I have today purchased a tube and foam contraption, being scared of squishing queenie by picking her up. The chap I bought it from said he was an ex bee inspector, and said these were very good, but be careful when returning the queen that you put her back pretty much exactly where you left her - his view was it reduced the chances of her being attacked by the other bees. His theory being that her retinue should be expecting her to be in a position, dumping her elsewhere, miles from her retinue was asking for trouble.

No idea how accurate that is, but thought I'd share!

NM

 

[Stephenw]

Yeah thanks sorry meant to say I saw eggs so I was satisfied.

Find eggs, she's be not far away.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Find eggs, she's be not far away.

With eyes like mine that's not an easy matter (heck of a job getting your reading glasses on without letting any bees into the veil!

The chances are she won't be on a frame with food, the chances are she will be on a center frame with eggs
E

Every time I've checked the hive so far she's been on the outermost frame with comb being drawn!! - which is another tip - i wasn't looking to hard for her there, which seems to be the trick for spotting them

 

[djg]

And, of course, always remember to look on the brood-box side of the QE when you start your inspection.

It's rather like taking an umbrella out and it never raining - I have never seen a Q there in 3 years of looking!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Probably not a big deal for you guys,but as a newbie who has only had bees for 4 weeks found the Queen today and got her marked.Very satisfying.

I was quite shaky when I marked my first and second and third. My fourth was a small queen probably a virgin not mated because of bad weather but I was absolutely ecstatic finding her........marked her as I was giving her another week to see if she laid......... I thought she would be easier to find to knobble

 

[Arfermo]

As a small rejoinder to the above, I recently tried remarking a Q as the previous mark had almost disappeared. Using the crown of thorns, I released her only to be astonished 8 days later by a dozen or so of emergency QCs and no sign of the Q. Speaking to a beek who has kept bees for circa 75 years, he said that the marking would have changed the inhibiting pheromone of the queen and what has probably happened is that she was balled and killed by her progeny. His response was not to immediately release a newly marked Q but to put her in a cage placed horizontally across the frames with a dollop of fondant with honey in it and smear a smidgeon of honey across the mesh of the cage. That will ensure the bees look after her properly as they help her emerge, freshly marked. Better still perhaps is to clip wings and not mark. Your choice.

 

[TOBY-3652]

Just a quick question about marking queens that have just started to lay. How long should i wait before marking them ???

 

[drstitson]

i'd suggest only marking once there was enough material in the hive for the workers to raise as queens if something goes wrong!

 

[Stephenw]

What an experience. Today tried to find queen to mark her. Found her running across the frame and saw her fall down because a gust of wind came. I was content with seeing the queen and thought she just went down into the brood box again. I had the hive all closed up when I found her sitting on the grass so I quickly put the press in cage on her and marked her. So then I lifted her up and put her back in the hive using one hand to remove roof and crown board. So hopefully shes ok.


Steve