This is an interesting thread. I spend myriads of time one day last spring looking for something to mark the queens with that I was getting. I never did find a suitable pen. The queens never got marked. I am in Canada, (as you mostly know, hee, hee) and we don't have the products that are in the states. I imagine that the bee stores have queen marking pens, but that is long enough away that I don't want to travel, I don't want to pay any shipping charges, (seems kind of redundant to me), so I am grasping at thin air. I know that for surely, at least one female around my place must have finger nail polish, and I bet she had red.....red is the colour for 08 and my queens are all from 08 except for one from last year, she could be the unmarked one, or white, now where could I find white fingernail polish.....thinking....nope, not a thought there. Oh well, gonna find some red polish and as I work each hive, if I get a chance, I'll mark. The hives are getting pretty full and it is not always easy to find that girl....beautiful and most wonderful day, loving and living life, Cindi