Queen Marking Pens are paint pens used to mark a small dot of colour on the thorax (upper back) of a queen bee to make her easy to locate during hive inspections. The internationally standardised five-colour year system ā white, yellow, red, green, blue (repeating in 5-year cycles) ā allows beekeepers to instantly identify the queen’s year of introduction and confirm she is the original queen or a replacement.
What Are Queen Marking Pens?
Finding the queen during a hive inspection is one of the most time-consuming aspects of Langstroth colony management. A marked queen ā with a small, visible paint dot on her thorax ā can be spotted in seconds among thousands of worker bees, even on a crowded frame. The international queen marking colour system assigns a colour to each year of a five-year cycle (years ending in 1 or 6: white; 2 or 7: yellow; 3 or 8: red; 4 or 9: green; 5 or 0: blue), so a queen marked with the correct year colour allows the beekeeper to immediately know her age and flag if she has been superseded (replaced by a new, unmarked queen). Queen marking pens are used alongside Queen Cages for introduction and Plastic Queen Cell Cup Holder for rearing programmes.
Key Features and Technical Specifications
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Colour System | International 5-year year-colour system |
| Ink Type | Non-toxic, fast-drying paint ā queen-safe |
| Application | Small dot on queen thorax |
| Compatible Species | All honey bee species including Apis mellifera scutellata |
Why Buy From Urban Beekeepers?
- Kenya’s best beekeeping equipment shop ā stocking high-quality and genuine beekeeping equipment
- In stock ā same-day delivery within Nairobi
- Nationwide delivery to all major towns across Kenya
- Call or WhatsApp: 0797 764 747
- Trusted by commercial farmers, CBOs, and NGOs across Kenya
- Urban Beekeepers accepts M-Pesa, card, cash and bank transfer payments
Shipping and Delivery
Urban Beekeepers delivers countrywide to Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Machakos, Kitengela, Kitui, and all major towns across Kenya. Same-day delivery within Nairobi. Call 0797 764 747 to confirm delivery timelines for your location.
Frequently Asked Questions
What colour do I mark my queen in 2025 and 2026?
According to the international queen marking colour system: queens introduced in 2025 are marked green (years ending in 5 or 0 are blue ā correction: years ending in 5 are green). For the current year colour: 2025 = green, 2026 = blue. Always confirm the current year colour against the standard chart before marking.
Does marking a queen harm her?
When done correctly, queen marking does not harm the queen. The paint is applied as a small dot on the centre of the thorax while the queen is gently held or confined in a marking tube. The paint dries quickly and does not interfere with the queen’s movement, pheromone production, or laying behaviour. Use non-toxic, queen-safe marking pens only ā do not substitute with permanent markers or other paints.
Does Urban Beekeepers deliver Queen Marking Pens outside Nairobi?
Urban Beekeepers delivers countrywide to Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Machakos, Kitengela, Kitui, and all major towns across Kenya. Same-day delivery within Nairobi. Call 0797 764 747 to confirm delivery timelines.
