Marking a queen helps beekeepers easily locate her, enabling them to safely transfer resources to other hives. The color used to mark a queen is significant and helps track her age. While you can choose any color you wish, beekeepers typically use the following colors to identify the age of their queens:
- Years ending in #1 & #6: White
- Years ending in #2 & #7: Yellow
- Years ending in #3 & #8: Red
- Years ending in #4 & #9: Green
- Years ending in #5 & #10: Blue
This color-coding system allows beekeepers to quickly determine the queen’s age, which is essential for managing hive productivity and replacing aging queens.