RE: How to mark a queen? Newbie

[edensway]

I am looking for a good tutorial for a newbie.

Thanks

[tommyt]

Youtube is going to be your friend on this
Also good to practice handling Drones to get it down

Tommyt

[Michael Bush]

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesqueenre...m#Queenmarking

The most important issues are to get NEXT year's color and practice on drones. When you're comfortable, then you can start on queens.

[KQ6AR]

I use the marking tube, only been doing it a couple years. Usually I feel like I'm holding them to tight when doing it by hand.
When marking I always get the extra ink off the marker first, & hold the queen upside down. That way if there is too much ink gravity can help you instead of hurt you.

[John V]

I don't want to encourage a bad practice, but I just dabbed a small amount of quick drying paint onto her thorax using an eraser of a pencil. Don't know how effecient or safe it was. It seemed harmless. Perhaps I was just lucky. I found the frame with the queen and layed it flat on it's side on top of the hive. I ever so carefully BARELY dipped the eraser in the paint and quickly but CAREFULLY dotted her. I did lightly smoke the frame first to slightly disorient the bees a little. I marked two queens this way. The only problem I had was with my first two tries. As I timed my application the paint had already dried on the eraser. So I had to be quick. I have a few more queens being reared and will do the same with them. This method worked for me as a hobbyist but I could see how you could slip or get your timing wrong for a fatal or sloppy mark. This was a few inspections ago and since then I have found them laying in the hives. So as far as I know, they were successful markings.

Later, John

[chrissv]

Before I got a queen marking tube, this video taught me how to do it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4Sb6J_uY3E

-- Steven