Hi Robert
 
I have marked a number of queens with gold and green nail polish and
have found no adverse effects with the stuff made by Yardleys. I did
however kill two queens with some no-name brand stuff that had a
really stinky solvent. Try those sort of ultra-modern won't hurt your
nails types - the logic there would be that one of the ways nail
polish damages ones fingers is to dissolve stuff out of the nail.
This stuff will be things like fats and waxes. Bees also have a layer
of cuticular hydrocarbons that would be damaged, so try to get hold
of a polish that says it won't damage your nails.
 
I did a really silly thing a while back when I tried to superglue
some little tags onto a few queens - superglue has a really terrible
cyanide containing compound, that, if it does not kill the queen
makes a big white stain on her!! (pays to read label first I geuss)
 
Keep well
 
Garth
Garth Cambray           Camdini Apiaries
Grahamstown             Apis mellifera capensis
Eastern Cape Prov.
South Africa
 
Time = Honey