The colors and their order through the years are universal, as queens are also traded throughout countries and continents. This year's color is red, as the queen bee marking colors are set to be red. The SOMERSET BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION provides information on the best pens for marking queen bees in 2024 and 2025.
Colors for marking queens Five colors are traditionally used to mark the queen bees: white, yellow, red, green, blue. Other colors are not used for marking queen bees. If you anywhere met a mate, which is marked with a different color, you can be sure that you are facing a non-professional queen breeder, and amateur who is trying to sell you not quite a quality product.
Information about marking queen bees for beekeepers from what colour to use in 2024 and 2025 along which which pens are the best to use. Bee Queen Marking: Understanding Colors Queen Marking Importance: Marking queen bees with a colored dot or sticker helps beekeepers easily identify and track the age and presence of the queen in the hive, which is crucial for effective hive management. The vibrant colors of the marking pens make it super easy to spot a marked Queen bee on a frame full of worker bees, helping in your hive management and identification.
Arteza is a trusted brand known for producing high-quality art supplies, ensuring the reliability and performance of the markers for beekeepers. Use the correct color for the year your queen was introduced. Standard Color Scheme for years ending in: White 1 or 6 (2021 & 2026) Yellow 2 or 7 (2022 & 2027) Red 3 or 8 (2023 &2028) Green 4 or 9 (2024 & 2019) Blue 5 or 0.
(2025 & 2020). Discover our Bee Identification Chart to identify common bee species by size, color, and unique markings. A helpful tool for gardeners, beekeepers, and nature enthusiasts! Find your queens easily and keep track of their age by marking your queen bees.
These special pens make it easy. Just mark your queen with a small spot of color on her back (thorax). The beekeeping industry uses color code to indicate the year the queen was introduced.
2024: Green (years ending 4, 9) 2025: Blue (years ending 5, 0) 2026: White (years ending 6, 1) 2027: Yellow (years ending 7, 2. Queen bee marking follows a standardized color-coding system based on the last digit of the year, designed to help beekeepers track the age of queens efficiently. The colors rotate in a five-year cycle, with each color representing two possible year endings.
This system ensures consistency across beekeeping communities and simplifies record. Around the world, apiculturists (beekeepers) employ a series of colour codes to identify queen bees and indicate their age. A smudge of harmless quick-drying paint is applied to the thorax of the bee so that it stands out within the hive's population.
It seems the origin of this colour coding derives from the work of the Nobel Prize-winning Austrian zoologist Karl Von Frisch, who researched.