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All photos are the intellectual property of Victory Hill Apiary
Beekeepers mark the thorax of a Queen Bee to identify the year she was born using a water based paint pen and to help them easily identify her in the hive.
The primary colors used by beekeepers are recognized by an international system among beekeepers. For example, the year ending in "5" is blue. Thus, the thorax of Queen Bees born in 2025 are marked blue. Below is the coloring system by color and the associated years.
White
Year ending 1 or 6
Yellow
Year ending 2 or 7
Red
Year ending 3 or 8
Green
Year ending 4 or 9
Blue
Year ending 5 or 0
Unmarked queen bee
Queen bee temporarily in a cage with attendants to prepare her for marking.
Marking a 2022 queen bees thorax with a yellow water based paint pen.
2021 queen bee thorax marked white. Queen bees color range from light amber to black.
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