Color Chart for Queens

[GSF]

I ran across a color chart somewhere in the last couple of days. I got my package last June from a company sells a lot of bees. The queen had a blue mark on her. I didn't think nothing of it. If my memory serves me well, blue means 0 or 5. If they follow a color code then my package queen (Who is now MIA) was three years old when I got here. Does a company that sells bees have to go by these colors?

[iddee]

Here's your queen colors, and yes, blue is 0 and 5.

http://www.worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/index.php/topic,508.0.html

[RHBee]

I ran across a color chart somewhere in the last couple of days. I got my package last June from a company sells a lot of bees. The queen had a blue mark on her. I didn't think nothing of it. If my memory serves me well, blue means 0 or 5. If they follow a color code then my package queen (Who is now MIA) was three years old when I got here. Does a company that sells bees have to go by these colors?

No they don't.  The color is simply convenient. I personally think that the queens should be marked with a color that makes themvvisible.

[GSF]

Thanks all. I was a little confused about it all. Why would they sell me a 3 yo queen when they sell out every year. I was thinking they may have just slapped some paint on her for my convenience. I was gonna say if she was 3 years old that would explain her disappearance.

[sc-bee]

They usually charge you to mark a queen. And I would expect the correct color for the year of the queen.

[Joe D]

If they sell that many bees and queens, you would think they would even if just for convenience, still use the color for that year.
They wouldn't know what year she was if the use the same color every year.




Joe

[RHBee]

If they sell that many bees and queens, you would think they would even if just for convenience, still use the color for that year.
They wouldn't know what year she was if the use the same color every year.




Joe

Sure they would if they just raised her.

[sc-bee]

If they sell that many bees and queens, you would think they would even if just for convenience, still use the color for that year.
They wouldn't know what year she was if the use the same color every year.

Joe

Sure they would if they just raised her.

If you are going to raise queens, mark them and sell them, take the time to get the right color IMAO. Of course unless you tell the buyer I marked the queen with X color just to help you identify her  :-D
But back to your post not likely marked the right color or you need to find somewhere else to get your queens  ;)

[GSF]

sc-bee; I bought a package from these folks with a marked queen. It seems to me a business #1) would want a customer to return. #2) Would probably not keep any queen more than a year so they would get the prime laying out of their queens to build the packages. Just guessing about the queen.

[RHBee]

Hey Gary, PM sent.

[GSF]

Thanks Ray. I got it, replied back, you're on the money.

[capt44]

I buy new marking pens every year for the color codes.
This year is Green so I bought 4 pens to make sure I have enough in case one dries out or something.