Marked Queen - Now Unmarked???

[ZuniBee]

I know it's VERY easy to miss the queen. I have four hives that I have never seen the queen. There are eggs and larva but I can never find a queen. Three days ago I installed two three pound packages with marked queens. Yesterday I was checking one of them, and of course was looking for the marked queen. It didn't take long for me to see a big beautiful queen. It was easy to tell she was a queen by the body shape and the way she glided across the comb. Only problem, it was not marked! I know the queen I inserted was marked because I saw the white dot when I put her in and was wondering why the dot was white when 2007 queens should have been yellow.

Anyway, there are plenty of eggs with this queen. I guess she was in the package with the 3 pounds of bees and must have killed the marked queen.......

[Shizzell]

Well, obviuosly if there are eggs you have a queen. If you saw the queen and it isn't marked, they made a new one. Be glad! The bees made a new queen and to them, its better.

Jake

[tillie]

They may have made a new one.  At the Young Harris workshop, the guy speaking on re-queening said that sometimes people mark the queens with liquid paper which the bees eat off.   You also may have had a 2006 queen and they have replaced her.

Linda T in Atlanta

[Robo]

They couldn't have made a new queen and have her laying in 3 days.

I have seen bees clean the markings off a queen, but this obviously depends on the substance used to mark her.

The more likely scenario is that when your package was made,  they shook a queen into it with the bees.   The bees remain loyal to this queen and killed you new marked queen.

It is also not uncommon for queen producers not to use the standardized marking colors


Rob....

[Zoot]

I marked 2 of my own queens last year and the bees chewed the paint off within a day or 2. Completely off.

[Brian D. Bray]

I have to agree with Robo.  My queens were supposed to be marked, but when the Shipment came to the local distributor not one of a semi load of packages bees had marked queens.  Also I known of many instances when marking was not perminate.  The type of material used in marking seems to be the key element. 

[ZuniBee]

Yeah, they couldn't have made a new queen. I got the package three days ago and hived them on foundation with no comb. I know for sure the queen was marked because I did a direct release and watched her walk on the foundation.

So, either they were marked with something that came off or a queen was in with the 3 pounds of bees. Either way, I'm happy because she in there and laying eggs. It just shocked me to be looking for a dot and bam the queen was right there.

[skullring]

My queen came marked red this year.  I wish they would mark them with the proper color for the year.  I saw her last weekend and she still has the paint but it is a bit worn off.