Queen Marking

[The Drone Ranger]

Hi
I wonder if anybody has used a marking system where the queen gets a coloured number disk
I dug out some I bought years ago from thornes
They are tiny all white and came with a tube of fish glue which might be soy sauce after all this time

I was thinking of something a little bigger and coloured but still numbers

Or, is that just overkill are there easier ways of keeping track of queens ?

Also is anyone using the one handed marking cage/queen catcher?
I saw one but it made me think guillotine! is that wrong?

[Jon]

H

Also is anyone using the one handed marking cage/queen catcher?
I saw one but it made me think guillotine! is that wrong?

A member of our queen rearing group dispatched his queen with one of those.
Possibly the most useless piece of beekeeping equipment ever designed.

The turn and mark cage is the easiest way to mark imho.

2147

[Black Comb]

Yes the Thornes turn and mark is good as it has a "stop" to prevent squashing of queen.
Numbers, well I mark all mine the same colour and keep the details on the record card.

[Geo224]

What about picking the Q up by hand and marking?

Just curious how many people actually do it this way.

[Jon]

If you want to teach newbies it is not the best approach as they are too nervous about picking up queens.
The turn and mark cage allows any beekeeper to mark a queen.

[mbc]

What about picking the Q up by hand and marking?

Just curious how many people actually do it this way.

By far the safest and best approach IMHO

[prakel]

What about picking the Q up by hand and marking?

Just curious how many people actually do it this way.

That's the way that we clip queens and would without question be the method used if we actually started painting them. I suppose the important thing is to feel comfortable with whichever procedure we use.

[The Drone Ranger]

I have dropped them a few times trying to just hold them
I have stabbed one with the crown of thorns
so its crack pipe/pooter and blow into a thornes plunger style marking cage
I might investigate the turn and mark type though

The one handed marker is now off the Xmas list (11 weeks to go eek!)
I have seen commercial queens with a quite big almost fluorescent marking disc
Dont know how they attach them though

[Rosie]

I like to mark mine under a "crown of thorns" and then pick them up for clipping. I don't like holding them for too long so I mark them before picking them up.

[Jon]

Try the turn and mark thingy Steve. It's easier than the crown of thorns I reckon. With the crown of thorns you often have a couple of workers inside with the queen and others getting in your way on the outside. With the turn and mark cage the workers leave through the slots and you can walk away to where there is good light to mark and clip the queen. The other thing is, it allows you to have a really good look at the queen to see if she has any damage to her feet or antennae.

[Mellifera Crofter]

... I have stabbed one with the crown of thorns
so its crack pipe/pooter and blow into a thornes plunger style marking cage
I might investigate the turn and mark type though ...

I've injured a queen's abdomen with the crack pipe - so I've never used it again. I've never tried the crown of thorns either. The queen can move fast and after the crack-pipe incident, I'm too scared that I'll cause another injury (and stab some brood as well). I've also used the butterfly clip, and the queen escaped out of it! Now I just gently herd the queen into a turn-and-mark plunger thingy. I haven't yet tried to pick her up. I think I'll have to learn to do that for one of the practical Beemaster exams.

Kitta

[fatshark]

Was the queen injured in/exiting the crack pipe, or when getting her into it? I've used them quite a bit - for queen marking I hasten to add - and only really struggled getting excited, flighty queens into the pipe. I never liked the crown of Thorne's … mainly because of the number of times I impaled my own fingers when it had detached from it's protective lump of poly in my bee box. I now use my fingers, either marking directly or via a plunger cage if I'm feeling less confident/more cackhanded.

Of course, if she's a really valuable queen (not £££ … just valuable to me) I'll almost certainly drop her in the long grass. It's important to then take one giant step away from the hive and let her find her own way back … you can guess how I worked out a big step is better than scrabbling around on my hands and knees searching for her :(

I've tried using superglue (the rubbery version) to attach numbered disks with little success, though the glue certainly sticks to everything (again :(). I've recently inherited an Apinaut system which has a little tube of glue which I'll try next season. I bet nail varnish would stick those numbered disks in place …

[Mellifera Crofter]

Was the queen injured in/exiting the crack pipe, or when getting her into it? …

Trying to catch her. In one if my attempts to put the foot over her, I must have pressed down lightly on her abdomen - but enough to have caused a slight dent. That was in my second year of beekeeping. I hope I'm better now - but I still avoid the pipe.
Kitta

[Castor]

I have a one-handed jobbie & use it all the time. Quick and very efficient if used with care - no problems with it.

[Little_John]

I've tried using superglue (the rubbery version) to attach numbered disks with little success, though the glue certainly sticks to everything (again :(). I've recently inherited an Apinaut system which has a little tube of glue which I'll try next season. I bet nail varnish would stick those numbered disks in place …

I've been told by those who use magnetic disks that Titebond GEL superglue is the stuff to use.

I made my own 'turn and mark' gizmo - using s/s wires at Q/X spacing and a soft piece of sponge on the plunger. Haven't managed to damage a queen yet ...

LJ

[The Drone Ranger]

Hi chaps can anyone tell me where to source those big fluorescent marking discs
I have trawled the net looking for them

I had a go with the tiny numbered jobs but they are very hard to get on
In fact it sort of stuck but way off centre so I let her back in the hive so the bees could get it off before the glue set