Marked Queen Bee Colors For This Year This is the color guide for marking bees. They go by the year the queen was born. For example, queens born in either 2013 or 2018 would be marked with a red dot.
This color guide helps beekeepers ensure they are dealing with the same queen over time by adhering to a standardized color scheme. The international color code for marking queen bees is a five-year rotating system based on the last digit of the year. The sequence is White for years ending in 1 or 6, Yellow for 2 or 7, Red for 3 or 8, Green for 4 or 9, and Blue for 5 or 0.
This system allows a beekeeper to identify the age of their queen with just a glance. In 2025, the color for queen bees will be blue. The colors represent birth year, with white for years ending in 1 or 6, yellow for years ending in 2 or 7, red for years ending in 3 or 8, and green for years ending in 0.
Red color - 3rd year or 8th year; Green color - 4th or 9th year; Blue color - 5th or year 0. For example, if you see a red-marked queen in 2024, that queen was bred in 2023. It is clear that 2028 is not suitable, because this queen would be from the future and 2013 is not suitable either, because bee queens do not live that long.
By marking new born queens with a specific color to each calendar year, beekeepers, wherever they are in the world, can identify the age of the queen bee by the color of her mark. As queen bees very rarely live more than 3-4 years, 5 colors are all that is needed. Learn how queen bee marking color codes have evolved over the years, from early methods to standardized systems, and discover best practices for accurate marking.
Years ending in 4 or 9: green It is as simple as that, and it is a perfect way of visual record keeping. And the way it works, is if the Queen hatches during that year, that is the color you mark her with, whether you mark her that year or in the following spring. The color refers to the year the Queen hatched in.
Queen Bee Marking Pens or Markers. The international queen bee color code for a given year is determined by the last digit: White (1, 6), Yellow (2, 7), Red (3, 8), Green (4, 9), and Blue (5, 0). This system allows beekeepers to instantly know the age of their queen.
Trying to remember which color to use this year? This simple guide breaks down the five-year rotation and why it's a critical tool for successful hive management. Years ending in 3 or 8 are marked with red, and years ending 4 or 9 are marked with green. In summary, queen bees are marked with a color code based on the year the queen was born, starting in the sixth year.
This system ensures proper record. Around the world, apiculturists (beekeepers) employ a series of colour codes to identify queen bees and indicate their age. A smudge of harmless quick-drying paint is applied to the thorax of the bee so that it stands out within the hive's population.
It seems the origin of this colour coding derives from the work of the Nobel Prize-winning Austrian zoologist Karl Von Frisch, who researched.