dear Robin,
 
 > I am looking for a method of marking queen honeybees
 > in their cells,
 > so that they can be identified once they have emerged.
 > We would like to find some simple chemical/
 > dust that could
 > be applied in the sealed cell and allow for
 > identification on
 > emergence. Does anyone have any suggestions??
 
> Robin M Crewe
> Dean: Faculty of Science
> Dept of Zoology              Phone 27-11-716-3167(W)
> Univ of the Witwatersrand          27-11-442-5469(H)
> Johannesburg                 FAX   27-11-339-3959
 
 
I am not sure if the following is of any use to you:
 
During my training as enzymologist I used a blue dye to
color protein bands in electrophoresis columns.
 
The name of the dye was 'Coomassi brilliant blue'
 
This color used to stick to not only the protein in the elfo
tubes, but also to our hands, the table etc. . It is very
possible that there is a protein dye that will not harm the
growing qeen in her cell. If it exists, a solution of the dye could be injected into the closed qeen cell and the qeen
would then be easily recognised upon emergence( if different colors are usable, one could mark qeens individually in one colony; a red queen, a blue one, etc.). A good starting point might be a coloring agent used in the food industry, as they are deemed 'non-toxic' mostly( examples in the yellow-orange range are: riboflavin,chlorophyll,carotenoids)
Finding out which of the many protein dyes are usable and in what concentration, and the chemical/physical influence of the color
upon the growing and the adult queen is a matter of experimental
investigation, for which I am sure you have ample opportunities.
Please let us know here in BEE-L the outcome of these
experiments.
 
sincerely,
 
                                Hugo Veerkamp
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