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All our Queen bees are locally raised in an area that contributes to good behaviour. This has taken many years to achieve, at the same time it is essential to have several gene pools to work with and with careful selection by crossing one with another has had huge benefits.  With many beekeepers working together in our local association, we have reduced the need for importing (potentially diseased) bees from other areas. Our next aim is to use Buckfast and varroa resistant drones to further enhance our queen lineage.       


We raise queens and drones from only the best selected colonies. This nearly always achieves what we are looking for. honey bee queen


Keeping things simple, we not only offer nuclei and queens which are very gentle and productive, but also hardy to many of the common diseases. Chalk Brood is not tolerated in any of our colonies. We continue to breed from only the best characteristics.  

 

We cannot guarantee that all colonies will be identical in their behaviour all the time. We therefore offer a replacement if any of our “Mated Queens” supplied should produce poor worker offspring. Please send Her Majesty back to us and we will happily replace her, free of charge. (This refers to colonies that do not quieten once the hive has been closed down. Noise - lawnmowers, unwashed gloves and clothes

including rough handling, perfume, nail varnish and old watch straps can stir up even

the quietest bees.)

Our Honey Bees

Varroa is a pest which is still causing worldwide destruction and is classed as one of the biggest threats facing bees today.


 Things are starting to settle as more is now known about this mite, however there are still so many chemicals being used to keep this pest under control.


With this in mind, we setup a trial apiary in 2011 and started managing some locally collected (swarms) colonies, as per-normal, without the use of any chemical treatments or special management techniques.


We were able to keep our trial bees varroa free for 10 years until 2021, however in the 11th year many beekeepers suffered sever losses and our varroa resistant colonies declined significantly and the remaining colonies collapsed a year later.  


The conclusion from our observations is that our bees can manage for a number of years without treatments, however we recommend that you treat once a year in August, once the honey has been taken off, with a branded varroacide for your colonies to thrive and be prosperous over the longer time.