Which of the following is NOT a color used to identify queen bees based on age?

In beekeeping, queens are often color-coded based on their age to help beekeepers quickly identify them within the hive. Each year, a specific color is designated for queen bees, and the color corresponds to a particular year of the queen's life.

The colors used for identification include white for queens born in years ending in 0 or 1, yellow for 2 or 3, red for 4 or 5, blue for 6 or 7, and purple for 8 or 9. Therefore, based on the existing color system, purple does not correspond to any current year designation for queen bees, making it the correct answer for this question.

The other colors—red, yellow, and blue—are all actively used within the established system for identifying the age of queens, which makes them relevant and correctly associated with specific years.