Queen profile
A honey bee colony cannot exist without a queen. She is the only fertile female individual in the colony. Normally, there is only one mated adult queen per hive. She is usually the mother of most, if not all, of the bees in the hive. Through the pheromones she secretes, the queen is able to influence the bees of her colony. In addition, characteristics such as vitality, gentleness, swarming behaviour, disease resistance, and performance are largely determined by the queen.
Every beekeeper should therefore be familiar with their queens. To this end, it is recommended to record all observations in an “identity card”. This card accompanies the queen throughout her entire life.
Below you can download a template for such an identity card. Proceed as follows:
- open the PDF file
- print double-sided in A4 format
- fold lengthwise
- cut in the middle to obtain two cards
- place them in a plastic sleeve available from any stationery shop