2026 Queens

OUR PA QUEENS are grafted from our instrumentally inseminated breeder queens (to control genetics) and are open mated in our bee yards in Pennsylvania (SEE BELOW ABOUT DRONE YARDS) with our primary goals being: good honey production, not aggressive, and the mother (breeder queen) showing mite resistance through the workers she produces. We are not suggesting that you do not treat or test for varroa--always test your varroa mite levels throughout the season as many factors can influence that, including sudden mite pressure from nearby bees or robbing later in the season. While we have dedicated drone genetics flooding our queen mating area with of genetics that we've incorporated over the years (Latshaw Carniolan for mite resistance, Cordovan for gentleness and productivity, Canadian/Denmark Buckfast for gentleness and productivity, and others with VSH/SMR traits), the mated queens are still "open" mated, so the queen you purchase will be based on the mother, plus a mix of the above stock and any other colonies nearby. When you buy a queen from a varroa-resistant mother, you won't really know whether her daughters (your colony) will inherit that trait until the end of the season, if you're testing, so if you want to be sure to add such genetics to your apiary, buy more than one! The good news is that regardless of whether the workers (via the queen) inherit varroa resistance, all (100%) of your drones from that colony will spread varroa resistance (because drones don't have fathers, only grandfathers, so they are passing on the trait from the breeder queen).  

QUEEN GUARANTEE – We want you to be happy with our bees, and if you follow our installation instructions, and your new mated queen is not laying within 15 days following your purchase, you can have a replacement queen or money back.