Best place to buy mated queens

[mazzamazda]

Hi,

I have had some problems with Queens bought in over the last few years, same supplier, 2 were drone layers, 2 were drone layers in the spring, one vanished into thin air 3 weeks on.

Where do people recommend for getting in queens, price, quality and not lookling for Buckfast or Carnolian.

I would normally breed some of my own but been on a 4 week holiday and this years weather hasnt been too friendly up north!

Many thanks in advance

Mark

 

[prana vallabha]

i would reccomend - bekkys bees and BICKERSTAFFS QUEEN BEES both these have been great for me ....

 

[Haughton Honey]

If you're not against importing then our very own Norton on here as well as Keld (do a search for Danish Buckfast) sell some exceptional Buckfast-type queens.

I've had queens from both suppliers and they are exceptional, in the main.

Not cheap.....but then things of quality usually aren't.

 

[Winker]

i would reccomend - bekkys bees

I could not recomend the above retailer, i had a bad experance with her this year.

I would recomend Jed Marshall

 

[madasafish]

I bought queens from "The Bee Man" - highly recommended.

 

[rook66]

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"If you're not against importing then our very own Norton on here as well as Keld (do a search for Danish Buckfast) sell some exceptional Buckfast-type queens.

I've had queens from both suppliers and they are exceptional, in the main.

Not cheap.....but then things of quality usually aren't."

The post clearly stated "not looking for Buckfast or Carnolian" yet the advertisers ignore this. Buyers beware, Queens highly recommended on this forum are in the main just adverts.

 

[susbees]

The post clearly stated "not looking for Buckfast or Carnolian" yet the advertisers ignore this. Buyers beware, Queens highly recommended on this forum are in the main just adverts.

Italian-types likely to fare even worse in Cumbria I'd have thought.

Locally-adapted queens every time...why on earth anyone would want to import a queen adapted to a hot, sunny climate and entirely differing forage and seasonal patterns is beyond me. As our weather patterns change the need for bees who fly in poorer conditions and are thrifty with their stores is the only sensible route.

Whilst I do not go with the never-feed extreme to select stocks, dependence on vast amounts of white sugar is surely not a healthy route for our bees, lacking as it does many of the minerals and other components found in nectar.

Shropshire had no legally imported queens last year. Excellent.

 

[Chris B]

Shropshire had no legally imported queens last year. Excellent.

If you're going by bee base stats that just means nobody had an imported consignment going directly to Shropshire.
Bickerstaffes, KBS, WPF, Easyb** and no doubt others will have been supplying imported queens to just about every county but on bee base it will just show up as Merseyside, Sussex, Essex, and Glos. respectively.

n.b. I'm not recommending the above, in fact there are two I certainly wouldn't.

 

[mazzamazda]

Italian-types likely to fare even worse in Cumbria I'd have thought.

Locally-adapted queens every time...why on earth anyone would want to import a queen adapted to a hot, sunny climate and entirely differing forage and seasonal patterns is beyond me. As our weather patterns change the need for bees who fly in poorer conditions and are thrifty with their stores is the only sensible route.

Whilst I do not go with the never-feed extreme to select stocks, dependence on vast amounts of white sugar is surely not a healthy route for our bees, lacking as it does many of the minerals and other components found in nectar.

I couldnt agree more, I nearly always use my own queens, I only buy to experiment or if im desperate. Queen mating is the problem in the North, with me anyway.

I have had horrible experiences with Carnolian.I find Buckfast are great for brood but eat out of house and home when the weather turns, Italians the same. Im going to try the black welsh bee unless I get a better offer, only after 5 queens so will let you know how I get on with these if I manage to get them

Thanks for the replies and PM

Mark

 

[Haughton Honey]

Shropshire had no legally imported queens last year. Excellent.

Yes it did.

 

[susbees]

Yes it did.

Well ok, that was the (previous) RBI's quote from a lecture. I expect he meant that the NBU/SBI health checks had not been done in-County. Anyhow, we live abroad

 

[madasafish]

Italian-types likely to fare even worse in Cumbria I'd have thought.

Locally-adapted queens every time...why on earth anyone would want to import a queen adapted to a hot, sunny climate and entirely differing forage and seasonal patterns is beyond me.

Mark

Never knew that New Zealand had a hot and sunny climate, nor indeed Denmark.

I must have slept through geography lessons at school.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

The only two queens I have ever bought when I started both turned out to produce bad-tempered bees. I rear my own, breeding from the best. They fit into the local (bee) environment and weather environment OK. Imported ones, although possibly good initially may well produce difficult offspring.
A reputable supplier should not sell any queen until it's 3 weeks old - as they introduce more successfully by all accounts once older and it will not be a drone layer at the time of scooping up and putting into a queen cage. However no one can really be sure that their queens won't turn drone layer after a short while.

 

[Black Comb]

Anyhow, we live abroad

Is everyone moving to Wales?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Hope not - we'll have to raise the bridge tolls again