Hi All,
I have always enjoyed finding the queen when working a colony, but I
generally refrain  from touching her.  I really don't like handling queens.
 I guess it is like picking up a baby for the first time; your are sure you
will "break it".   I know Andy talks about putting queens in his mouth to
hold them, and I am sure most commercial beekeepers and a number of you
don't have this problem, but there are probably a few who are like me. I
watched a queen breeder in my area catch queens and place them in cages.  He
made it look so easy.
 
 I order my queens marked so when I do see them I know if it is the one I
placed there or a supersedure.  I have also raised, or at least allowed the
bees to raise, there own queen.  I would like to track these queens by
marking them.  This means catching and holding the queen in order to mark
her.  I tried doing this by hand and was not very successful (dropping
queens on the ground, etc.).  I even practiced on drones but still had
trouble with queens.
 
 I just tried something new.  I bought a queen catching device and a queen
marking tube.  The catching device is a plastic butterfly clip that allows
you to pick up the queen without hurting her.  There are openings large
enough for workers to pass through but not large enough for the queen.  I
then take the queen and place her in the marking tube.  This is a plastic
tube with a soft plunger and a screen at one end.  You gently push the queen
against the screen and mark her.  I use Testors' model paint pens.  I think
they are easier then working with bottles.  I wait a few minutes for the
paint to dry and drop the queen back in the colony.  I am not sure how long
to wait (3 to 5 minutes?) to ensure the odor of the paint dissipates so I
give the hive a few puffs of smoke.  I don't know if this is necessary.  I
know there is also a queen marking device available that holds the queen
directly on the frame while marking.  I intend to give it a try also.
 
 Even if you don't believe in marking queens, there are times when catching
and holding a queen is useful.  The queen catching device would really work
for those occasions.  Actually the more I use this the more at ease I feel
handling the queens.  Maybe someday I won't need the "training wheels".
 
Still learning.
 
Ron Bogansky
Kutztown, PA
First swarm call 4/18/98, a full three weeks before what is normal for this
area.