I’ve been marking queens recently, both for my own benefit and for some nucs I am selling. Marking the queen is not strictly necessary, though it does make it easier to find her amongst a crowd of bees. I do not consider myself very good at it, so have come up with my own technique once I find her majesty on the comb.

This year I have really struggled to find my queens, I’m not sure why. Normally my queens are a bit more distinctive in terms of color or other trait. This year their coloring seems to be similar to the workers, so perhaps that is in.

Continue reading →