We raise queens and nucs as part of our sustainable apiary operations. While we have raised all sorts of bees, we have landed on Varroa-Sensitive – Hygienic (VSH) Italians. These are bees that are gentle, great producers, and robust. We purchase artificially inseminated (AI) queens from top breeders to graft from, and raise in a Michael Palmer based process. Queens are open mated locally.
We are on a break from selling queens and nucs for the summer.
We will have queens for fall re-queening available beginning September.
Queens
We’ve been able to expand on our VSH-local breeding plans, and are getting ready to learn instrumental insemination. Our fall selection over the last few years combined with breeder genetics is really starting to show up not just in our winter survival rates (<10% loss) but in the Spring build-up.
Nucs
We have had a very successful spring split season with our 100% local bees and queens. The local genetics are enhanced by VSH-breeders (including Dr. Harbo lines).
What is in a nuc?
We put together some thoughts on nucs and packages and splits a few years ago when we really got into sustainability and locally raised bees. This was for our club newsletter originally written in 2018.
When do you need a new queen?
We put together some pointers for our customers and the club. This is not an exhaustive training but strictly a quick intro to re-queening.