Queens

Our queens are the foundation of our entire business.  We believe in high-quality, well-bred livestock selected for productivity, gentleness and resistance to diseases and pests.

We use queens in our breeding program that have a proven track record and genetic diversity. Every spring we identify stock from our overwintered colonies that have proven themselves to be prolific producers resistant to diseases such as chalkbrood. We also look for  queens that pass on the traits of hygienicity, or the ability of offspring to detect and remove threats to colony health such as mites and diseases.

We search out and incorporate into our breeding mprogram queens from other reputable breeders who we think can add to the robustness of our stock. Those lines may include breeding from Saskatraz, Buckfast, Russian and other genetic stock. We do not breed for color, but rather for productivity, overwintering capability, gentleness, swarm reduction and disease management.

Our first queens of the season are usually available in June, and are suitable for both nuc-creation and overwintering.

Please call us for availability and prices.

From time to time we may also have production queens from Hawaii, California or other Canadian suppliers to meet the need for early nuc production. Please call us for availability and prices.