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. Bee Queen Marking: Understanding Colors Queen Marking Importance: Marking queen bees with a colored dot or sticker helps beekeepers easily identify and track the age and presence of the queen in the hive, which is crucial for effective hive management.
The vibrant colors of the marking pens make it super easy to spot a marked Queen bee on a frame full of worker bees, helping in your hive management and identification. Arteza is a trusted brand known for producing high-quality art supplies, ensuring the reliability and performance of the markers for beekeepers. 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.
Water-based, non-toxic markers are the best way to mark your queen bee. Some beekeepers want to see their queen every time they are working in the hive. Marking makes it easier to spot your queen bee, even if she is laying in a pile of other bees.
Blue is the 2025 color for marking newly mated, 2025 queens as dictated by the international color code. 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. Use the correct color for the year your queen was introduced. Standard Color Scheme for years ending in: White 1 or 6 (2021 & 2026) Yellow 2 or 7 (2022 & 2027) Red 3 or 8 (2023 &2028) Green 4 or 9 (2024 & 2019) Blue 5 or 0.
(2025 & 2020). 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. Find your queens easily and keep track of their age by marking your queen bees. These special pens make it easy.
Just mark your queen with a small spot of color on her back (thorax). The beekeeping industry uses color code to indicate the year the queen was introduced. 2024: Green (years ending 4, 9) 2025: Blue (years ending 5, 0) 2026: White (years ending 6, 1) 2027: Yellow (years ending 7, 2.
The color code indicates the year and makes it easier to find the queen during a hive inspection. Queen bees do not live more than five years, and the color changes each year to help identify the age of queens from different distributors. For 2025, the blue color is the best choice.