two elementary questions (probably)

[Cuckmere couple]

a nuc which should have had a laying queen some weeks ago (q cell looked as if it had emerged) i added a frame of eggs to last sunday - it had been queenless for a few weeks

checked today and there were around 4-5 q cells drawn from these eggs

meanwhile...i saw a clump of bees fighting and basically it was a small queen being killed.....whats going on there? no queen or eggs etc...i do egg test 5 days ago and today i find developed but not capped q cells AND a q being killed?

2nd
in marking two queens with 2 different pens...ink flooded out because of warmth and soaked queen head to toe probably including eyes....disaster?

 

[madasafish]

Queen being killed? Q on mating flight came back to wrong nuc?

Painted queen.. She's stuffed..will likely be incapable of breathing properly.. or blind .. or both but she might be lucky (done it myself: now always test pen on some surface first)

 

[Cuckmere couple]

bugger

my best q one of them too.....i had tested it to check it was flowing, then delay in catching her, then pen exploded...will hold horizontally in future rather than vertically

 

[enrico]

I have painted them white before and they survived.....easy to see!
E

 

[Ian123]

Easy to say now but always dab on back of hand before queen....have done it myself!!!

 

[Poly Hive]

That was the advantage of the pots with the brush it made you wipe before applying.

PH

 

[Cuckmere couple]

...and i did dab on back of hand

it was the second dab on the queen which saw the pen issue a whole splurt of paint, poor thing...will give an update!

odd about the queen...no other nucs around, no sign of queen for 4-5 weeks...no eggs...added a frame 5 days ago and there was a queen being killed

 

[Cuckmere couple]

the more precious (to me) of the two seemed fine to me today...covered in paint on back and wings but seemed to be laying and moving around well

 

[MartinL]

That's one down to experience
Is it green or white now?

 

[Cuckmere couple]

very white