Queen Marking Tube

[GaSteve]

Anyone else have a hard time using these things? I was marking my unmarked queens the other day and tried to use this:

http://www.beeequipment.com/images/img-264-1301-3931.jpg

The queens absolutely refused to go in it. When I held it over the queens on the comb, they would walk around in circles, try to go under it, anything but go into the tube. Once I finally forced a couple queens to go into the cage and got them marked, I guess it smelled like a queen to the point where I couldn't keep the workers off of it.

Finally I gave up and just picked them up to mark them.

Am I not using it correctly?

Is there a trick to picking up queens on a crowded frame without getting your fingers stung?

[odfrank]

I never have a problem getting stung picking up queens, unless they are very mean bees and are stinging me any ways.

[sierrabees]

A similar device is marketed by Betterbee and Mann lake. I use one all the time. Your right, the queens don't like to go in, but you can herd them in with the spongy plunger and once they are in you let the workers who joined them escape out the top mesh. The biggest problem I have had is that sometimes the queen will wipe the disk off on the mesh before you can get her far enough away from it. With just a paint dot it doesn't matter. For some reason, as the tube getts older there is more tendancy for her to lose her numbered dot. I suspect that fraying of the threads on the screen offers more for the glue to stick to. I only get about fifty queens for each tube before I need to replace it. It is worth it to me because it makes the marking so easy and safe for the queen.

[Michael Bush]

It's not a queen catcher, it's a marking tube. You'll have to catch the queen by some other method like your fingers or this:

http://www.beeequipment.com/products.asp?pcode=341

Then get her to go in the tube. If you make a tunnel with your hands you can often get her to run into the marking tube from the hair clip queen catcher.

I'd recommend this:
http://www.beeequipment.com/products.asp?pcode=264M

Which will allow you to easily learn to handle queens without them flying away. smile.gif

[cmq]

Unless you have some physical reason why you cant catch the queen with your fingers. I feel this is much more efficient and has a less chance of injury to the queen.
Also, as someone said elsewhere, I never seem to forget or misplace my fingers.
If I locate the queen during the inspection, I may use a queen catcher to "cage" the queen (after I grab her) so I can then quickly proceed through the remainder of the hive.

[Michael Palmer]

>Unless you have some physical reason why you cant catch the queen with your fingers.

Truly. Using fingers is just too easy. Notice how a queen's wings protrude past the end of the abdomen. That's where you grab her. Practice on drones, if you must.

Try placing your right thumb and forefinger (right handed) together, as flat together as possible. Roll the tips togewther. See how it makes a pinching motion. Come up behind queen...as she is walking from right to left, and roll your fingers onto her wing tips. You'll have her, without having to stab at her. Pick her up. Notice how she sticks her legs out, in anticipation of grabbing a surface to hold onto. Allow her to grab the tip of your middle finger on the other hand. Then close thumb and forefinger onto her thorax. Mark her. When paint is dry, pick her up again by wing tips. Allow her to grab the comb surface, and let her go. Very simple

I use Testor model paints for queen marking. For brush, I use thin stem from a piece of grass...like Timothy. Just the very smallest bit on the grass is enough. It spreads out, so don't over paint.

[Janice Lane]

I herd her in with the plugger like sierrabee. I'm still too nervous that I'll injure the queen if I try to catch her with my fingers.

[Ross]

I love my queen clip (catcher) and it doubles as a holding cage if need be, allowing access by the workers. I also love my marking tube and my queen muff. I throw the queen clip with queen in the muff, throw in the marking tube and plunger, get the queen into the tube inside the muff. No more fly aways.

[magnet-man]

I mark the queen after I do the II because she is knocked out with CO2. It is so easy that I always knock my queens out.

If you don't do II, try this method.

1. Go to the grocery store and purchase the smallest piece of dry ice they have about $5.
2. Put the dry ice in an empty coffee can and let it fill with CO2 gas.
3. Remove one of the staples on the queen cage.
4. Lower the queen cage in the can for about 10 to 15 seconds and remove.
5. Dump the sedated queen and workers out.
6. Put the disc on the queen and return to queen cage.
7. Do what you want with the workers.

You can do this outside of you want. Put the plastic lid on the coffee can and cut a hole large enough to lower the cage in it keeps the gas from being sucked out by the wind.

The CO2 won’t hurt the queen. Queens are gassed twice when doing II. Yes I know it is cheating but it is so easy. It works really well when using push in queen cages too.

[ January 10, 2007, 07:01 PM: Message edited by: magnet-man ]

[GaSteve]

Wow, lot's of ways to skin that cat.

>It's not a queen catcher, it's a marking tube.

Bad assumption on my part. I thought it was a multi-tasker.

>Unless you have some physical reason why you cant catch the queen with your fingers.

Does clumsiness count? Just need more practice. As suggested, when the drones appear, I'll practice on them.

>Come up behind queen...as she is walking from right to left, and roll your fingers onto her wing tips. You'll have her, without having to stab at her.

I'll try that. Stabbing at her is what caused the stings. The queens always seem to run into a pile of bees and I always seem to mash one or two while trying to grab her on the sides of the thorax. The bees were quite docile otherwise.

The dry ice is a bit exotic, but I don't mind cheating.

Thanks for all the advice.

[magnet-man]

I agree the dry ice is a bit exotic but I have never been comfortable holding a queen to put a number tag on her. I always worry about damaging her. This spring I am going to try introducing II queens to brood less nucs by gassing the nuc and then putting the queen in.

I also use dry ice in my pump up sprayer when spraying for weeds. Saves a lot of pumping. :D

[GaSteve]

I don't how good the seals are on pump up sprayers, but you may want to be careful. On Mythbusters (one of the best TV shows ever), they put some dry ice into a 2 liter pop bottle, screwed the cap on tight and ran. The explosion was quite violent.

[Michael Bush]

>they put some dry ice into a 2 liter pop bottle, screwed the cap on tight and ran. The explosion was quite violent.

I've done it on the 4th out here in the country. In Omaha someone did it in town and went to jail. "Quite violent" is a little understated. I left one under a five gallon bucket that was a "dud". So we went in the house and about an hour later it went off. I had forgotten about it. I turned around to see what it was and saw a five gallon bucket about 60 feet in the air. It cracked the bottom of the bucket in three directions. :(

[magnet-man]

The gasket on the pump sprayer will deform and vent excess pressure out. Venting pressure can be controlled by how tightly you twist the top on. Once venting happens the top has to be loosened and screwed back down. You get a good idea of how much pressure is in the sprayer by how the liquid is spraying. Remember as you spray you are venting the pressure. After two or three fill ups you learn how much dry ice to put in. Start with a small piece of ice and work your way up to a larger one. Multiple small chunks will build up pressure faster than a single chunk of the same mass because of surface area. Do not fill the sprayer past the maximum watermark. The air space is needed to allow the gas somewhere to build pressure.

Remember there is a difference between a thin wall two liter pop bottle and a thick wall 2 1/2 gallon pump sprayer. I don’t think I could get my pump bottle to rupture even if I really twisted the top down hard. The gasket would vent or the hose would come off first.
Have to give it a try this spring when I am spraying for weeds.

I have seen some sprayers at Home Depot that have compress air fitting to pressurize. I seem to remember these have a pressure release valve. One could get one of these if they are concerned about pressure build up.

[ January 11, 2007, 08:18 AM: Message edited by: magnet-man ]