Beekeepers keep track of the age of their queen by marking them. Coloured bee friendly markers are purchased and used to mark the thorax of the queen. The colours denote the year the queen was born.

The colours that are used when a queen is born in a particular year are as follows:

Blue: 2000 or 2005                    White: 2001 or 2006                  Yellow: 2002 or 2007

The queen is considered to be one year old in her first season, and 0 years old in the year she is born.