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The queen bee is the leader of the honey bee hive and is the mother of most (if not all) worker and male bees in the colony. A healthy queen bee is essential to maintaining a healthy hive; When the queen bee gets old and dies, the whole hive will also die if they can’t find a new queen. To maintain the honeycomb, beekeepers must be able to distinguish the queen bee from other bees and mark it when it has been identified. Learn how to identify and mark queens by observing differences in bee behavior, location, and physical features.
Steps
Identification through appearance
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Find the biggest bee. The queen bee is almost always the largest bee in the colony. Sometimes male bees are as big or even bigger than the queen, but you can tell them apart by the thickness of the bee’s body. The queen bee will be longer and thinner than the other bees. [1] X Research Source
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Notice the pointed belly. The abdomen of the queen bee is the lower part of the body, near the stinger. Honey bees have a round belly, but the queen’s belly is more pointed. You can easily distinguish the queen bee this way. [2] X Research Source
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Find the bee with the legs spread out. The legs of worker bees and male bees are neatly tucked under the body – from the top looking down, you won’t be able to easily see their legs. The queen bee has her legs spread out so it’s much more visible. [3] X Research Sources
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Pay attention to the queen bee’s thornless stinger. Each honey bee hive has only one queen bee. If you find two bees that could be queens, hold the thorax (the middle of the bee’s body) and gently lift each one. Look under a magnifying glass and observe their nibs. The nibs of worker bees, male bees and queens that have not yet mated will have thorns. The queen bee’s nib is smooth and thornless. [4] X Research Sources
Find in the right place
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Locate the larvae. Gently lift each hive frame to look for larvae. Bee larvae look like white maggots, and you’ll often see them stacked close together. The queen bee lays eggs in the hive, so it’s most likely nearby.
- You need to be very careful when lifting the hive frame and when reassembling it to avoid accidentally killing the queen bee.
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Check hidden locations. The queen bee will not stick to the edge of the hive or outside. Most of the time, the queen bee stays deep in the hive and away from outside disturbances. If you have a vertical bee crate, the queen will probably be on one of the bottom frames. If it’s a horizontal hive, you should look for the queen bee in the middle.
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Observe unusual activity in the hive. The queen bee can move around in the hive. If you notice unusual activity in the hive, such as bees huddled together or bee larvae in unusual locations, the queen is probably nearby. [5] X Research Sources
Identifying queen bees through behavior
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Observe the phenomenon of bees moving to the side. Worker and male bees often move to the side to keep out of the way for the queen bee. After the queen bee has passed, they will gather in the same place. Watch out when you see bees move to the side. [6] X Research Sources
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Find the bee not working. The queen bee is kept by the entire colony and has no other duty than to lay eggs. Observe the bee as if it was not on a mission. Maybe it’s the queen bee.
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Check to see if the bees feed on a particular bee. All the needs of the queen bee will be met by the whole colony. Pay attention to which bees are caring for and feeding. It is possible that it is not the queen bee but an unmarried queen or a young bee, but it is highly likely that it is the queen bee. [7] X Research Sources
Mark the queen bee
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Choose the right paint color. Beekeepers use prescribed colors to identify queens born in certain years. This will help you to choose the queen faster and to know if the hive will need a queen in the future. Remember to choose the right color before marking the queen bee. [8] X Research Sources
- Acrylic paint is suitable. Many beekeepers use specialized pens or paint pens.
- White is used to mark the queen bees in years ending in 1 or 6.
- If the last number of the year is 2 or 7, you will use yellow.
- Use red for years ending in 3 or 8.
- Green is used for years ending in 4 or 9.
- Use blue for years ending in 5 or 0.
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Prepare paint for marking. Honey bees can get agitated and even injured if you hold them for too long, so you need to have paint ready to mark before you catch the queen. Dip a brush or paintbrush and hold it in your hand or place it on a small table next to the hive. [9] X Research Source
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Hold the queen bee’s wings or chest and lift. Gently grasp the queen bee’s wing or chest and lift it up. You have to be very, very careful when catching the queen – if she struggles, you might accidentally tear her wings or suffocate her. [10] X Research Source
- Some beekeepers sell a marker kit that lets you keep the queen bee in a small plastic box when marking, but this is not required.
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Hold the queen bee above the hive. If you accidentally drop a bee, you’ll want it to fall back into the hive instead of on the grass or your bee-catching suit. You should hold the queen bee above the hive the entire time you work with it. [11] X Research Source
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Dab some paint on the bee’s chest. Dab a small drop of paint on the queen bee’s chest, right between her front legs. Use enough paint to make it visible but not too much – the queen bee’s wings or legs can get sticky as the paint dries. [12] X Research Source
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Trim the wing tips of the queen bee (optional). Some beekeepers prefer to mark the queen by clipping the tips of her wings rather than using paint. If you prefer to use this method, gently pick up the bee and use the beekeeper’s special scissors to cut off a quarter of the bottom end of both wings. [13] X Research Source
Advice
- Check the hive regularly to make sure the queen is still there.
- In addition to harvesting honey, try harvesting royal jelly to use as a food supplement.
Warning
- Always wear protective clothing when working.
- If you mark the queen bee by clipping the wings, be sure to cut only the tips of the wings. If you cut too closely, the worker bees may think the queen is injured and will finish it off.
X
This article is co-authored by a team of editors and trained researchers who confirm the accuracy and completeness of the article.
The wikiHow Content Management team carefully monitors the work of editors to ensure that every article is up to a high standard of quality.
This article has been viewed 48,163 times.
The queen bee is the leader of the honey bee hive and is the mother of most (if not all) worker and male bees in the colony. A healthy queen bee is essential to maintaining a healthy hive; When the queen bee gets old and dies, the whole hive will also die if they can’t find a new queen. To maintain the honeycomb, beekeepers must be able to distinguish the queen bee from other bees and mark it when it has been identified. Learn how to identify and mark queens by observing differences in bee behavior, location, and physical features.
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