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The queen marking device is one of the most important in beekeeping after the hive with frames. You can do without a smoker; many even flaunt this fact. You don’t have to use a honey extractor and sell honey in combs. But every bee colony must have a fertile queen. And the beekeeper must know when it’s time to replace this female with a new one. And here you can’t do without a mark on the queen bees.
The simplest marking device is very similar in shape and essence to a regular marker, but does not contain alcohol paint, but a special varnish. There are also more difficult to use opalite tags with numbers. They require their own “related equipment”, but such tags are more durable. But everywhere and always, in order to mark the queen bee, she must be found.
How to identify the queen in a hive
A fertile female differs from ordinary bees in the length of her abdomen and the width of her chest. She also has differences in color, but this difference is so small that it is unlikely to be noticeable at first glance. And you need to find the queen quickly, as she tries to hide and constantly moves to a secluded place.
Workers cover the queen. You need to look for it where there are the most bees. The female's abdomen often protrudes from beneath the cluster of worker bees' bodies. The second option, which also catches the eye: a large and shiny breast spot. The female's back is smooth and black, as it is not covered with hairs, like those of worker bees. This difference is clearly visible against the general background of “fluffy” insects. The queen is too large for the bees to completely hide. The abdomen or breast will definitely “give away” the queen bee.
How to determine the presence of a queen in a hive
There is no need to look for queens during each examination. This is a gross interference in the life of the colony. There are signs of a healthy colony, which even without a thorough examination will indicate the usefulness of the swarm. There are also signs that the bees are left without a queen.
The presence of a high-quality fertile female is determined by the brood. If the hive has a one-day clutch of eggs or unsealed brood, the queen is present and working.
But you need to take a closer look at the laid eggs. If there is no queen in the hive, a tinder bee can take over her functions. In this case, the sowing of eggs will be uneven. The tinder skips the cells and lays 2-3 eggs in one.
It is impossible to visually distinguish the polypore from working individuals. But sometimes an old or sick uterus is also unable to work. Such a female must be found and replaced with a new one.
How to find a queen in a swarm
There are also some secrets on how to quickly find the queen in a hive:
- do not rely on a preserved mark;
- do not overuse the smoker, the swarm will begin to hide the queen bee;
- find the frames where there are the most bees;
- pay attention to the behavior of insects, bees are calmer near the queen, several of them are always with their heads towards the queen;
- after removing one of the frames, immediately look at the next one remaining in the hive, the queen may be there;
- on the removed frame, first of all inspect the side that was in the shadow, the queens tend to hide in a dark place;
- you need to start inspecting the frame from the edges; if the queen was closer to the edge, she may run to the opposite side of the honeycomb;
- special attention should be paid to the ball of bees; the workers hide the queen, covering her with their bodies.Important! It is enough to blow on such a cluster so that the insects crawl to the sides and open the uterus, if there is one;
- The best option: searching for the uterus together, this way you can simultaneously check both sides of the frame.
Before starting the search for the queen, the outer frames in the hive are removed and set aside. There are usually no females on them, and there are few working individuals. Removing the outer frames will make it possible to move the already inspected combs slightly to the side so that the queen does not crawl onto them again.
There is an easier way that does not require special attention and does not take much time. To locate the queen, you will need a metal mesh frame that completely covers the hive. The size of the longitudinal holes in the mesh is 4.5 mm. You can choose a suitable mesh yourself or buy it in a specialized store.
All the bees are shaken off onto one half of the hive, and a frame with a mesh is placed in the middle.After which the swarm is driven from one half to the other. The smaller workers will pass through the mesh, while the larger drones and queen will remain in the first half of the hive.
The third method is quite labor-intensive and risky, but does not require special devices:
- in the evening, in warm, dry weather, they wait for the bees to return home;
- a sheet is spread in front of the hive;
- all the bees from the frames are carefully shaken onto it;
- without sudden movements, they kneel down and carefully examine the bees crawling on the sheet;
- Having found the uterus, it is carefully covered with a special cap and placed in a cage;
- the sheet is moved closer to the hive and a board is placed against the entrance;
- After the bees have returned home, you can take care of the queen.
Most often this method is used when the queen needs to be replaced. In this case, the new female is not placed immediately, but only in the morning. This way, the colony, feeling orphaned, will better accept the new queen. If you just need to put a mark, the queen is marked and placed back in the hive.
If you don't grab it right away, it might fly off. Mostly unfertilized queens take off. Perhaps it makes sense to replace the “flying” queen.
How to find out if there is a queen in a hive without opening the hive
In the summer, when the colonies are working at full capacity, experienced beekeepers do not recommend disturbing the bees again. But at the same time, it is necessary to control the presence of a queen in the colony in order for the colony to flourish. It is possible, without opening the hive and without disturbing the insects, to determine whether the bees have a queen. There are some signs that there is no queen in the hive:
- A family without a queen makes a special buzz. This is not the “cry” of a colony that has just lost a female. The sound is different.
- The hive is deflated because the insects are agitated and consuming too much food.
- Working individuals do not carry pollen into the hive, which is necessary for feeding the larvae.
- Bees are “lazy”, reluctant to fly, and take off only after running to the edge of the landing board.
- Working individuals take off and immediately return.
- Bees from an orphaned colony are characterized by the behavior of “begging” for their own hive.
Bees caught in bad weather often have to ask to go to someone else's hive to wait out the bad weather. Only “loaded” individuals are allowed freely into someone else’s family. An “empty” bee has to beg for permission to enter for a long time, raising its abdomen upward and quickly flapping its wings. But in a queenless colony, family members demonstrate this behavior.
Owners of small apiaries can determine the absence of a queen in a colony by observing the behavior of insects. In large industrial apiaries it is easier to put a mark and then search for queens visually.
How to check for a queen if there is no brood
The situation when there is no brood in the hive at all, neither fresh nor sealed, does not mean that there is no queen there, and a new one must be urgently planted. A queen in a colony may be present but not working. The reasons why the queen does not lay eggs are various:
- inability to fly due to congenital deformity after varroa mite;
- bad weather during the flight;
- absence of nearby drones from other apiaries;
- any disease.
If there is a queen in the hive, you cannot place another one there. The bees will kill the stranger. Visually, it is also not always possible to find a female, especially if she is not there.
First you need to make sure that the uterus is really missing. This is done using a control frame with brood.
A frame with open brood is placed in the hive and the date is signed.Wait 2 days. If there is no queen in the colony, the bees will begin to build fistulous queen cells. If a female is present, the workers will simply seal the brood.
If there are no queen cells, you will have to look for a female. This individual will need to be removed and a new fertile queen will be added to the colony.
Why do you need to mark queens?
An amateur beekeeper with a small apiary can afford to rely on memory or notes and change queens as needed. But it is much more convenient to mark queen bees. Bright spots allow you to quickly find a female among the working individuals. And with a large apiary, they also make it easier to control the age of queen bees. When breeding breeding queens for sale, the tags help trace the pedigree of the future queen of the swarm. Installing a tag is not a very labor-intensive operation, which greatly simplifies the life of the beekeeper in the future.
How can you mark a queen bee?
The same products are used for bees as for other insects:
- paint;
- varnish;
- opalite marks;
- homemade compositions.
The main requirement for all marks is bright colors so that the queen immediately catches the eye. Sometimes experienced beekeepers mark queens by clipping their wings.
Paints have certain disadvantages. Working individuals are hardworking creatures. They constantly clean not only themselves, but also their queen from pollen and dirt. Because of this, the paint wears off quickly. That is why, when searching for the queen in a hive, you should not count on a mark, especially after wintering. Another disadvantage of paint marks: you cannot put either a year or a number on it.
Opalite tags are the most durable, but require additional equipment:
- BF-6 glue or Shellac alcohol solution;
- a spatula for applying glue or, at a minimum, a toothpick;
- a match or the same spatula for applying the mark to the glue.
Opalite marks are light, but hard and large enough to prevent the female from checking the cells. Another disadvantage of an opalite mark is that it must be glued very carefully. The mark is glued exactly in the middle of the upper chest or closer to the rear end.
Sometimes regular nail polish is used, but such a marker is undesirable for the uterus, it contains too many harmful substances. Also, do not use celluloid dissolved in acetone and acetone paint. Acetone, contained in all “folk” marking agents, can damage chitin.
Colored labels for queens by year
For an amateur beekeeper who breeds females for sale, it does not matter exactly how to mark the queens. The main thing for him is not to get confused in the marking system. In an industrial apiary or in breeding beekeeping, it is better to adhere to the international marking system. In this system, 5 colors are used to mark queens by year. The five-year cycle was developed because when breeding for longer than 5 years, the female is not kept and is replaced with a new one. Queen mark colors by year:
- yellow – 2012/2017/2022;
- red – 2013/2018/2023;
- green – 2014/2019/2024;
- blue – 2015/2020/2025;
- white – 2016/2021/2026.
To calculate what color the mark will be in the future, it is enough to add five years.
Marking queen bees by clipping their wings
A rather complex method used by experienced beekeepers. Some consider this method optimal, since there is no danger that the glue or paint will spread all over the chest and flow onto the head.
In this method, the female is held by the breast with the thumb and index finger of her left hand. The insect's wings are free.Marks are made with nail scissors, cutting off the wings figuratively. In this case, the beekeeper himself decides how to mark the queen.
Opponents of cutting off wings have reasons for their negative attitude. If a female bee really didn’t need wings after flying around, she would lose them when she returned to the hive. Maintaining viable wings is a waste of energy. Female ants chew off their wings immediately after fertilization. If queen bees do not lose their wings, then they are needed.
The second disadvantage of the method: a limited number of options for tags and the danger of pressing the insect too hard.
Markers for marking queens
Inexperienced beekeepers are better off using special bee markers. When using these “felt pens” you do not need to press down on the insect. Simply place the marker rod on the back of the uterus. When doing serious work in the apiary, it is better to stock up on markers of all 5 colors.
You don’t even need to pick up the queen bee to mark it with a marker. There is a special device to immobilize the female.
Other methods and devices for marking queens
There are basically no other devices for marking bees. The only difference is the dyes used for marking:
- office proofreader;
- nail polish;
- fluorescent varnish.
The only role played here is the desire to save money. Special markers are much more expensive than stationery and cosmetic supplies.
Additional non-standard equipment includes a frame holder, which is shown by the author of the video:
Opalite tags are made from lightweight plastic or foil.They are industrially marked with numbers from 1 to 100. But due to the high cost and complexity of use in amateur beekeeping, these marks are rarely used.
How to determine that there is no queen in the hive
The situation when there is no one to mark in the hive does not happen very rarely. It can be difficult for beginners to determine whether there is a queen in a colony. Because of such mistakes, the colony manages to die before the beekeeper understands what’s going on.
If there is no queen in the hive, nurse bees also begin to bring honey, becoming foragers. A beginner can even be pleased with a large amount of honey. But working individuals gradually die of old age, and they are not replaced by young ones. As a result, the colony gradually dies out.
How do bees behave without a queen?
Without a queen bee, the bees' character deteriorates. They become lazy and capricious. They react to the opening of the hive with a specific buzzing sound. Often, working individuals build queen cells that remain empty. The amount of honey increases, but foragers stop bringing pollen to the hive.
You can often observe a specific small trembling of the wings. This trembling differs from the asking posture, which is also characteristic of individuals from an orphaned family.
What to do if the queen in the hive is missing
The way in which orphaned colonies are corrected depends on the time of year the colony lost its mate. If this happened in winter or early spring, a fertile female from another family is placed in the hive.
If it turns out that the bees do not have a queen in July, and honey production in the region stops at the beginning of August, you can take your time with the correction. Foragers will supply more honey. But in August, you need to place open brood in the hive so that the family does not die.
Correction of a queenless colony is easiest in the fall.To do this, two families are united: a motherless one and a full-fledged one.
Conclusion
A device for marking the uterus, despite its simplicity, is necessary for serious business. It does not harm the bees, but helps the beekeeper navigate the timing of replacing old females.
