2024 Post-Solstice Mated Queen

Proven mated 2024 VHS x Russian Queen. Pulled fresh from her Nuc and caged day of delivery. Re-queen your hives in fall for the best winter survival!

These queens are made from mothers that survived the harsh Minnesota winter, selected by bees in naturally drawn queen cells (not grafted), and are then open mated to predominantly Russian local drones. Selection is for survival, mite tolerance, and temperament. Honey production seems to be more of a product of management and environmental conditions.

To maximize honey production from the Russian bloodlines, if that is your goal, we combine two hives into one over a double excluder super. After the honey flow, just divide the colonies to prepare for winter. We actually divide every hive into 4 hives and overwinter in stacked nucs. Brood breaks and young queens make all the difference in overwintering.

I allow young queens to lay for at least three weeks after mating to ensure their brood pattern is solid and they are producing proper proportions of capped worker brood. Due to our production standards, supplies are extremely limited! Queens can be made to order, order early for best selection.