Color in the Arthropod Genome

Written by Kaskrim with contributing theory and knowledge by Azizah • Scribed by AI Lumière • Project Gorgon Genetics Research

Every bee and wasp has a color. Body color and wing color. Each has a hue — the color itself — and a saturation and brightness. Color is not cosmetic accident. It is determined by genes on the same chromosomes that control stats, read by the same dominant and recessive logic that governs everything else in the genome.

Understanding color does not require learning a new system. It requires understanding one part of the system that is already familiar.

This article covers body and wing hue: what controls them, how they work, and what it means practically.

What Controls Hue

Hue — the color itself, red, blue, green, orange, purple — is controlled by two chromosomes: CR 1 for body color and CR 3 for wing color.

Both chromosomes are 40 positions and use the same decode type: circular graduation. They use the same framework and similar numbers. This is also species independent — bees and wasps with identical CR 1 and/or CR 3 genomes have the same colors.

The Color Wheel

The chromosome is read as a whole, but in two layers — F-J sets the broad position on the wheel, and A-E fine-tunes within that zone.

It is circular because the wheel wraps around. There are no hard endpoints. Push far enough in one direction and you come back around to where you started.

Now imagine a clock face to describe color locations on the wheel. Red sits at 12. Going clockwise: orange at 1–2, yellow at 3, yellow-green at 4, green at 5–6, teal at 7–8, blue at 9–10, violet at 11, back to red at 12. The color moves clockwise as F-J dominant or mixed positions increase. It moves counterclockwise as they decrease.

The Two Axes

Hue is not controlled by a single number. It is controlled by two.

The Primary Axis: Groups F-J Dominant or Mixed

Gene groups F through J (positions 21–40) carry most of the hue weight. The count of dominant or mixed positions in those 20 genes — F-J dominant or mixed — is the strongest single predictor of color.

More F-J dominant or mixed moves the color clockwise. Less F-J dominant or mixed moves it counterclockwise.

The numbers below represent how many of the 20 F-J positions are held at dominant or mixed. The approximate ladder, which holds for both body and wing hue:

F-J dominant or mixed	Color zone
17–19	Purple, blue-violet, or blue-green (A-E dominant or mixed determines which)
15–16	Blue, blue-grey
14	Turquoise, green
14	Blue
11–13	Turquoise, green, yellow, or orange (secondary axis determines which)
10	Green-yellow or yellow-green (body, A-E determines which) / Red (wings)
7–9	Red (body only — CR 3 reaches red at 10)

The Secondary Axis: Groups A-E Dominant or Mixed

Gene groups A through E (positions 1–20) contribute to hue as well, but with less weight. Their effect is measured as a count of dominant or mixed positions across those groups — A-E dominant or mixed.

Within a given F-J zone, A-E dominant or mixed fine-tunes the position on the wheel:

• Low A-E dominant or mixed: pushes clockwise within that zone
• High A-E dominant or mixed: pushes counterclockwise within that zone

A direct example: three bees, all with F-J dominant or mixed = 12. One has A-E dominant or mixed = 1 and is turquoise. One has A-E dominant or mixed = 3 and is green. One has A-E dominant or mixed = 6 and is yellow. Same F-J dominant or mixed, different A-E dominant or mixed, different color.

Think of it like focusing a camera. F-J is the macro focus — it places the color in the right neighborhood on the wheel. A-E is the micro focus — it sharpens exactly where within that neighborhood the color lands.

Mixed Genes Count as Dominant

Mixed genes count as dominant or mixed for hue. A position either contributes to the dominant or mixed count or it does not. A bee does not need to be clarified to have a predictable color.

Color and Stats: The Conflict

Here is why a purple-bodied bee has been elusive:

Stat bonuses in arthropods express at double recessive. Every position that contributes a stat bonus is a recessive position. This means a high-stat bee has most of its genome recessive — including positions on CR 1 that also control body hue.

A perfect-stat bee has F-J dominant or mixed around 7. Those 13 recessive positions in F-J are stat genes — Toughness, Intelligence, Ruggedness, Ferocity, Virility, Enthusiasm, and Friendliness.

Most of the community was optimizing for maximum stats from October 2021 onward. Every generation that improved stats was pushing F-J dominant or mixed lower — further counterclockwise, away from purple. The drive to increase the stats was reducing the possibility for purple to show up and fly around.

Wing color is a different story. All three wild archetypes start with wing colors associated with a higher number of dominant or mixed genes — CR 3 F-J dominant or mixed sits at 18 in Fae Bees and 15 in both Fae Wasp and Freeze Wasp variants. This is why early breeders frequently saw orange bodies with blue or purple wings — body hue was pushed counterclockwise by stat breeding while wing hue, starting from a more clockwise archetype base, held on longer. The two chromosomes were moving at different rates.

What Is Achievable

Body Color (CR 1)

Starting from a perfect-stat bee, here is what each body color costs. F-J dominant or mixed starts at 7. The three free cosmetic positions (1G4, 1I3, 1J4) can be flipped to dominant at no stat cost, raising F-J dominant or mixed to 10.

Red

No changes needed. Default for a perfect-stat bee.

Yellow

No stat cost. Flip 1G4, 1I3, 1J4 to dominant. Also flip 1A1 and 1A4 to recessive to lower A-E dominant or mixed and clean the yellow. F-J dominant or mixed = 10.

Green

Costs −2 Virility. Flip cosmetics + 1F3 to dominant. F-J dominant or mixed = 11.

Blue

Costs −15 stat points: −3 Ferocity, −7 Intelligence, −3 Ruggedness, −2 Virility. Five stat genes go dominant. F-J dominant or mixed must reach 15.

Blue-violet

Costs −25 stat points: −5 Enthusiasm, −3 Ferocity, −7 Intelligence, −8 Ruggedness, −2 Virility. Seven stat genes go dominant. F-J dominant or mixed must reach 17.

Purple

Costs −30 stat points: −5 Enthusiasm, −3 Ferocity, −5 Friendliness, −7 Intelligence, −8 Ruggedness, −2 Virility. Eight stat genes go dominant. F-J dominant or mixed must reach 18.

Wing Color (CR 3)

Starting from a perfect-stat bee, here is what each wing color costs. F-J dominant or mixed starts at 6. The seven free cosmetic positions (3F1, 3F4, 3H1, 3H4, 3I1, 3J2, 3J3) can be flipped to dominant at no stat cost, raising F-J dominant or mixed to 13.

Red, orange, or yellow wings

No changes needed. Default for a perfect-stat bee. A-E dominant or mixed determines which of the three you get.

Green wings

No stat cost. Flip all 7 cosmetic positions to dominant. F-J dominant or mixed = 12–13.

Blue wings

Costs −5 stat points: −2 Ferocity, −3 Friendliness. Two stat genes go dominant after cosmetics are used.

Blue-violet wings

Costs −12 stat points: −5 Ferocity, −3 Friendliness, −4 Virility. Four stat genes go dominant.

Purple wings

Costs −16 stat points: −5 Ferocity, −7 Friendliness, −4 Virility. Five stat genes go dominant.

Wing color reaches clockwise positions more cheaply than body color. The 7 free cosmetic positions in CR 3 F-J (vs 3 on CR 1) give significantly more room before stat genes must be touched.

For other visual traits, see the Arthropod Genome Structure article.

Arthropod Color Calculator

A color calculator tool based on this research is available at: Arthropod Color Calculator

Input a CR 1 (body) or CR 3 (wing) genome string and select a target color. The tool calculates the minimum gene changes needed to reach that color, sorted by stat cost — cosmetic changes listed first.

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Written by Kaskrim with contributing theory and knowledge by Azizah. Compiled by AI Lumière. Based on research of genomes contributed by the community and posted via Kaskrim's Discord 2021–2026.