Author:
Monica Porter
Date Of Creation:
15 March 2021
Update Date:
1 July 2024
Content
The queen is the leader of the honeycomb and the mother of most (if not all) worker bees and male bees in the colony. A healthy queen bee is essential to maintaining a healthy hive; When the queen bee gets old and dies, even the hive will die if they haven't found a new queen. To maintain a honey bee hive, beekeepers must know how to distinguish the queen bee from other bees and mark it off when it has been identified. Learn how to identify and mark a queen by observing the bee's behavior, position, and body features.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Identify through appearance
Find the biggest bee. The queen bee is almost always the largest bee in the herd. Sometimes there are male bees that are as big or even larger than the queen, but you can distinguish them by the thickness of the hive. The queen will be longer and thinner than the other bees.
Pay attention to the pointed abdomen. The queen's abdomen is the lower body, near the stinger. The honey bee has a round belly, but the queen's belly will be more pointed. You can easily tell the queen bee this way.
Find a bee with drooping legs. The legs of the bees and the male bees fit just below the body - looking down from above will not make them easy to see. The queen bee has legs spread out so it will be much more visible.
Pay attention to the queen bee's thorn-free stinger. Each honey bee has only one queen bee. If you find two bees that could be a queen, hold the chest of the bee (the middle part of the bee body) and gently lift each one. Look under a magnifying glass and look at their stinger. The stinger of the worker bee, the male bee and the unmarried queen bee will have thorns. The queen bee's stinger is smooth and spiny-free. advertisement
Method 2 of 4: Find the niche
Determine the location of the larvae. Gently lift each hive frame to find the larvae. Bee larvae look like white maggots, and you will often see them piled up close together. The queen lays eggs in the nest, so it is most likely nearby.- You need to be very careful when you lift the hive frame and when reassembling it to avoid accidentally killing the queen.
Check out hidden locations. The queen will not stick to the outside of the hive edge or out. Almost always the queen bee stays deep in the nest and stays away from outside turmoil. If you have a stand, the queen will probably be on one of the bottom frames. If it's a horizontal barrel, look for the queen bee in the middle.
Watch for unusual activity in the hive. The queen can move around in the nest. If you notice unusual activity in the hive, such as bees huddled in one place or bee larvae in an invisible position, the queen is probably nearby. advertisement
Method 3 of 4: Identify the queen bee through behavior
Watch for bees moving sideways. Worker and male bees often move aside to avoid the way for the queen bee to go. After the queen bee passes by, they will gather in the same place. Pay attention when you see bees moving aside.
Find the bee not working. Queen bees are kept by a colony of bees and have no duties other than laying eggs. Observe that the bee does not appear to have any duty. Maybe it's the queen bee.
Check to see if the bees feed on a particular bee. All the needs of the queen bee will be met. Pay attention to which bees are caring for and which bees to feed. It may not be a queen but is an unmarried queen or a young bee, but it is most likely a queen bee. advertisement
Method 4 of 4: Marking the queen bee
Choose the right paint color. Beekeepers use the colors specified to identify queen bees born during certain years. This will help you choose the queen bee faster and see if the hive needs a queen bee soon. Remember to choose the right color before marking the queen bee.
- Acrylic paint is suitable. Many beekeepers use specialized pens or paintbrushes.
- White is used to mark queen bees in years ending with 1 or 6.
- If the year ends 2 or 7, you use yellow.
- Use red for years ending in 3 or 8.
- Green is used for years ending in 4 or 9.
- Use blue for years ending with 5 or 0.
Prepare the paint for marking. Honey bees can be agitated, even injured if you hold them for too long, so be sure to have a paint mark ready before you pick the queen bee. Pre-dip a brush or paintbrush and hold it in your hand or place it on a small table next to the honeycomb.
Hold the queen bee wings or chest and lift it up. Gently handle the queen bee's wings or chest and lift it up. You have to be very, very careful when capturing the queen bee - if it struggles, you may accidentally tear its wings or strangle it.
- Some beekeepers sell a marker that allows you to keep the queen bee in a small plastic container when marking, but this is not required.
Hold the queen bee above the hive. If you accidentally drop the bee, you'll want it to fall back into the hive instead of falling onto the grass or your bee suit. You should keep the queen bee above the hive the entire time you work with it.
Dab a little paint on the bee's chest. Place a small drop of paint on the queen bee's chest, right between its forelegs.Use enough paint to see, but not too much - the queen bee's wings or legs can stick when the paint dries.
Trim the tip of the queen bee's wings (optional). Some beekeepers prefer to mark the queen bee by cutting off the tips of its wings rather than using paint. If you prefer to use this method, gently pick up the bee and use the beekeeper's scissors to cut off the lower quarter of both wings. advertisement
Advice
- Check the hive regularly to make sure the queen bee is still there.
- In addition to honey, try harvesting royal jelly to use as a supplement.
Warning
- Always wear protective clothing when working.
- If you mark the queen bee by trimming the wings, make sure to only cut the tip of the wing. If you cut it too close, the worker bees might think the queen was injured and will finish it.
