The queen bee colour chart is an internationally recognized system that use coloured dots to identify the age of a queen bee. A queen bee is marked with a single coloured dot on the thorax of the queen bee; the colour of the dot allows a person to determine the age of the queen bee. The queen bee colour chart use five colours for indicating the age of a queen bee over a five-year cycle.
The five colours included in the colour chart are white, yellow, red, green, and blue. The final digit of the year in which the queen bee was marked determines the colour of the dot on a queen bee. If a queen bee was marked in a year ending in the digits 1 or 6, then the queen bee will have a white dot on its thorax.
How to Use the Queen Bee Colour Chart
Years that end in the digits 2 or 7 indicate that a queen bee will have a yellow dot on its thorax. Queen bees marked in years that end in the digits 3 or 8 should have a red dot on its thorax. Any queen bee marked in a year that end in the digits 4 or 9 will have a green dot on its thorax.
Finally, queen bees marked in years that end in the digits 5 or 0 will have a blue dot on there thorax. By using this colour chart, a person can use mental math to determine the age of a queen bee and to identify whether or not that queen bee is of peak age for laying eggs. Marking a queen bee is useful for beekeeping because marking a queen bee allows for more faster inspections of the queen bee in the hive.
If a person is inspecting the hive for a queen bee but does not find it, they may not realize whether the hive has either swarmed or whether the bees are performing supersedure. Supersedure is when worker bees raise a new queen bee to replace the current queen bee in the hive. If the queen bee that is being inspected is an unmarked queen bee, it can be difficult for the beekeeper to identify if supersedure has taken place within the hive.
Additionally, by finding the marked queen bee in the hive, a person will spend less time disturbing the hive. Less disturbance to the hive result in healthier hives. To mark a queen bee, the beekeeper must first locate the queen bee in the hive.
A queen bee can usually be found in the centre of a group of worker bees that surround the queen bee. Once the queen bee has been located, secure the queen bee in a roller cage or marking tube. With the queen bee secured, apply a small dot of paint measuring between 2 and 3 mm onto the thorax of the queen bee.
Allow the queen bee to dry for at least 30 seconds before placing the queen bee back into the hive. It is important to ensure that the queen bee is not marked on its abdomen, as the paint should only be applied to the thorax of the queen bee. If you use a dot that is too large on the queen bee, the paint may smear on the queen bee.
If the dot smears, it will make it difficult for another individual to correctly identify the queen bee. The tools that are used to mark the queen bee are also important to the process. Acrylic paint pens are used to mark the queen bee with acrylic paint.
This type of paint dries quickly so the paint does not smudge on the queen bee, and the paint adheres to the thorax of the queen bee. Other tools that can be used include a queen catcher or a foam plunger. These tools will hold the queen bee in place so that you can mark the queen bee without harming it.
Acrylic paint sets more quickly at higher temperatures. If the temperature of the queen bee is above 18°C, the paint will set. If it is below this temperature, the paint may smear on the queen bee.
This can lead to the paint dot no longer accurately reflecting the age of the queen bee. Depending on the colour of the bees in the hive, some dots will be more easily visible than others. For instance, yellow and blue dots are easily visible on dark coloured bees.
However, a white dot may not be easily visible unless there is a dark outline around the marked queen bee. Similarly, green paint dots may fade on queen bees with black thoraxes. In this case, another coat of green paint may have to be applied to the queen bee.
To ensure that the coloured dot is easily visible, a queen bee colour chart can be used to determine which colour will be best for that particular hive. By using the queen bee colour chart to record the age of the queen bee, beekeepers can better manage the hive. By knowing the age of the queen bee, you can monitor the patterns of the queen bees brood and the quality of the queen bees eggs.
Queen bees peak in their productivity around their second year. However, queen bees tend to fade in their productivity after their fourth year. If a queen bee has a red dot on its thorax, it indicates that it is three years old.
In the year 2026, if you see a queen bee with a red dot, you can be sure that the age of the queen bee is three years. Based on this age, you know that it is time to requeen the hive. By using the queen bee colour chart, you can act before the queen bee becomes weak in its productivity.
Furthermore, using this method of marking queen bees allows for faster inspections of the hive for issues like varroa mites and dearth. Other methods of identifying the queen bee exist. However, the queen bee colour chart is the most common method.
For instance, instead of using coloured dots on the queen bee, some use numbered tags to identify each queen bee in their apiary. Additionally, other beekeepers use UV paints that glow under black lights. Other methods include using wing notching to permanently identify the queen bee.
However, the standard method of identifying queen bees with dots of various colours since the 1950s. Additionally, other paints may be used for identifying the queen bee. However, these paints must be water-based enamels that are safe for the bees. Otherwise, beekeepers may end up poisoning their queen bee by using toxic paints.
It dont matter how good the hive is if the queen dies. You should of checked the paint type first. Most beekeepers would of avoided this mistake if they had more experience.
Actually, its a common problem. Youll need to be carefull. A lot of people forget this.
The queen bee’s life depend on it.