As an alternative to RFID, LIDAR and other complex bee-tracking schemes, one can use off the shelf hardware (obsolete cell phones?) and minimalist tiny QR code tags.

Here's a paper where they are used on honeybees in a (waaay overkill design!) real-time tracking application:
https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1713568115

Here is an article where they are used on bumbles:
https://www.wired.com/story/why-these-bumblebees-are-wearing-itty-bitty-qr-codes/
https://tinyurl.com/yfmkw7m7

(and below is the non-paywalled copy of the wired article)
https://web.archive.org/web/20230510132646/https://www.wired.com/story/why-these-bumblebees-are-wearing-itty-bitty-qr-codes/
https://tinyurl.com/4aafnfwx

These QR codes are no less intrusive than the German and Czech color/number tags best explained by the late Dave Cushman (G8MZY) here:
http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/queennumber.html
Dave's been gone a dozen years, but he would be very happy to know that he is still an authoritative source of solid practical info, thanks to Roger Patterson.

I loved watching bees "wake up" after being briefly chilled so that number tags could be attached - the glue would dry in an instant, of course, and the bee would slowly stretch its little legs, and do a few explorative moves, and then suddenly jump into the air and fly out the window, toward the sunlight.  You could almost see it thinking - "Oh yes, I remember now that I am awake - I'm a bee!"

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