elif_arici · İzmir, TR · Queens · Jul 20, 2026

Ordered a marking pen — which colour is correct for 2026 queens?

Second year keeping bees here in İzmir and I finally feel brave enough to mark my queens. I bought a set of Posca pens but now I'm second-guessing which colour I'm supposed to use this year. I know there's an international code that rotates but I can never remember the order. My mentor said 'just use whatever colour you can see' but I'd like to do it properly so I know at a glance how old each queen is if I requeen or catch a swarm later. So — what colour is a 2026 queen, and is there a trick to remembering the rotation?

#queen-marking#colour-code#beginner

▲ 12 votes 💬 3 replies ✅ Solved

3 replies

ImkerinLena · Jul 20, 2026 · ✅ Accepted answer

White for 2026. The code runs on the final digit of the year: 1 and 6 white, 2 and 7 yellow, 3 and 8 red, 4 and 9 green, 5 and 0 blue. The classic mnemonic is 'Will You Raise Good Bees' — White, Yellow, Red, Green, Blue. So last year's queens are blue, this year's are white, next year yellow. Practice on drones first; they can't sting and you'll get your grip and paint amount right.

CorkBeeRon · Jul 20, 2026

ImkerinLena's got it. One caution on white though — it's the hardest colour to spot against pale comb and it yellows over time. Keep the dot small and on the thorax only, never the head or wing roots. A blob of paint on the wrong spot can do real harm.

elif_arici · Jul 20, 2026

Will You Raise Good Bees — that I can remember! Practiced on about ten drones this evening and only painted one antenna by accident (sorry drone). Will do the real queens on the next warm calm day. Thanks both.

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