Same here ... only mark them when I remove them from the mini-nuc and place them in a queen cage. That way they get an extra day or two to smell OK before they're released into the hurly burly of the hive. I haven't clipped mine this year.

Last few of the year marked this morning and into strong nucs (essentially full hives split in half). Last few cells from the Ben Harden setup into the vacated mini-nucs with the hope of late season mating and over-wintering. I'm running a much smaller number than Jon is, but this will be the third cell in each this year. All remaining mini-nucs are now double deckers and I've also built frame feeders for the top storey of a Kieler rather than use a third layer with fondant ... I found this tended to 'leak' down into the hive too much last winter.