Queen Marking Tube

I decided to make this queen marking tube after seeing them in the beekeeping catalogs. I took a pill bottle and used a wood bit to drill out most of the bottom. Then I traced the outline of the top on a piece of #8 hardware cloth and cut it out. I used epoxy to glue this piece to the end of the bottle I had cut out. I took a piece of luan and traced another circle and cut it out on a bandsaw where it would slide easily into the bottle. I glued and screwed this circle on to a piece of dowel a little longer than the bottle. I glued a piece of soft sponge to the flat end. If you put your queen in the bottle and gently push her against the screened end, it will hold her while you use a marking pen to mark her through the screen. This can be used with the queen marking cage shown on this site.