POSCA Queen Marking Pen Yellow - Made in Japan

One small dot saves a lot of searching

Finding an unmarked queen on a busy frame is a test of patience, and it gets harder every time the colony grows. A marked queen turns that hunt into a glance. The mark also does a second job. If you ever open the hive and find an unmarked queen where a marked one used to be, you know the colony has replaced her without asking you first.

This is the genuine POSCA marking pen in yellow, the pen beekeepers around the world reach for when it is time to mark a queen. It is made in Japan, and its water-based paint dries quickly into a bright, durable dot that stays visible for seasons.

Why yellow works so well

The whole point of marking a queen is being able to spot her in a moving crowd of thousands of bees, so the colour has to earn its place. Yellow does. It stands out sharply against the dark thorax of a queen and against the browns and ambers of comb and workers, in full sun or in the shade of a lifted lid. Whether it is your first queen or your fiftieth, a bright yellow dot is one of the easiest marks to pick up at a glance.

Why beekeepers use POSCA

There are cheaper markers around, but POSCA has become the standard for a reason. The paint is water-based, it dries fast so the queen is back on the comb in moments, and once dry it holds up to life inside a hive without flaking away after a few weeks. The fine tip puts down a small, controlled dot rather than a blob, which matters when the target is a few millimetres of thorax.

Getting a clean mark

Shake the pen well and press the tip down on a piece of paper first, until the paint flows evenly. Then place one small dot in the centre of the queen's thorax, the section between her head and abdomen, keeping paint away from her wings and head. Give it a moment to dry before releasing her. If you are not confident holding a queen yet, a marking cage or one-handed catcher makes the whole job calm and low-risk.

Specifications

• Colour: bright, high-visibility yellow
• Paint: water-based, quick-drying
• Tip: fine precision tip
• Made in Japan