Queens

Selection

Our bee colonies are for honey production as well as for breeding selection.

The purity of our material is maintained as both the male and female lineages of our queens are known for 100%.

As most beekeepers will know with regard to queen breeding, a line is never stable and it always needs to be worked on. Especially the elimination of undesirable behavior, such as excessive use of propolis and swarming, requires a wide selection basis, so many colonies as well as good insight.

In connection with prevalent viruses, resistance to bee diseases is very important these days. That is why our breeding is mainly focused on hygienic and VSH behavior.

Queens are judged by us on the following characteristics:

  • Swarming
  • Wax building
  • Gentleness
  • Good comb behaviour
  • Honey production
  • Disease resistance
  • Hygiene
  • VSH behaviour

Only queens that have the above characteristics are used for further selection after two years.

VSH

For our VSH research, all our potential breeding queens undergo a so-called shake test. The procedure for this is as follows: approx. 300 bees (40 grams) are collected from the open brood, placed in a plastic bag and are frozen in. The hive number and date of sampling are stated on each bag. The bees are weighed, placed in a container with soapy water and shaken for half an hour. The lost mites on the bottom are counted, after which the percentage of mites is determined. This is an immediate indication whether the population in question should or should not be treated. Naturally, the colonies without mites are included in our breeding program.

Sales

In spring we sell a limited number of overwintered queens. Delivery from the end of April. During June, fertilized (F1) queens will be available for sale. And of course the island mated queens. Delivery of these queens is from the end of June to the end of August.

You can place your order via the order form. After registration you will receive a confirmation from us. The 3-digit number that we mention on our correspondence is your personal order code. We ask you to make the payment some time before delivery, please state your name and order code. After receipt of your payment, your order will be shipped as soon as possible, abroad we ship by Rhesus/UPS.

You can choose from the following types of queens:

Type A Buckfast (F1) production queen

Occasionally, Buckfast Holland supplies stand-fertilized Buckfast F1 queens. These queens come from selected breeding queens and are fertilized by a mix of Buckfast drones. This ensures gentleness, vitality and variety. Not suitable for breeding, but extremely good queens for honey production.

  • Available: from end of June. Minimum order quantity: 5
  • Price: Price on demand
  • Transport costs: € 50,- incl. VAT per shipment.

Type B Island mated Buckfast Marken Queens

These Queens form the cornerstone of our cultivation. They are mated with selected drones on the isolated island of Marken. These island queens form the basis for our selection for the following generations, and they can easily be used to produce F1 queens. We use them to ensure a greater diversity within our line and combination cultivation.

  • Available: end of June, early July.
  • Price: Price on demand
  • Transport costs: € 50,- incl. VAT per shipment.

Type C  Wintered island mated Buckfast Marken Queens.

These are one-year-old island mated Buckfast (Marken) Queens, preselected in spring. Overwintered queens guarantee a good start of the season and are eminently suitable to produce F1 queens. (Limited availability)

  • Available: April/May
  • Price: Price on demand
  • Transport costs: € 50,- incl. VAT per shipment.

Conditions of sale:

Prices
Prices shown are not binding and include VAT of 9%. If you have a VAT number then we calculate without VAT.

Payment
Before delivery. You will receive a Pro-forma invoice from us some time before shipment. After receiving the payment, your order will be sent as soon as the queen is ready.

Shipment
We ship our queens in plastic queen cages, in a box via UPS special express. Delivery time: 1 – 3 days. UPS-saver will be send by mail.

Availability
Successfully growing queens depends to a large extent on weather conditions. Buckfast Holland reserves the right to cancel orders at any time.

Color code:
All our queens are branded with one or two colors. We do not follow the year color code.

Certificate
Every island queen that we sent is accompanied by an AFB health statement as well as a Certificate of Origin, which states the year of birth and pedigree.

Introducing a Queen

  1. When you receive your new queen, place one drop of pure water on the outside of the screen of the cage so that the workers can use it to dissolve the candy. Repeat this every day if the cage is not in the hive. The caged queen can survive for several days outside of the hive, but the sooner she is introduced, the better.
  2. Keep the cage in dark place away from breezes and a room temperature of 20-24C.
  3. The queen you have received is in a combined shipping & introduction cage. There is no need to remove the worker bee attendants. At one end of the cage there is a food compartment with sugar candy. Do remember to remove the plastic lock at the end of the cage before introducing.
  4. The receiving hive must be queenless and without and no queen cell precent. The cage should be placed in the middle of the brood nest. Position the cage between two frames with the candy en downwards.

The bees in your colony will chew through the candy and release the new queen. You can check the cage after five to six days to be sure she has been released. Do not look for the queen. If needed look for egg. The colony should not be disturbed for the next 8-9 days.

If you want to make a nucleus from an existing colony, please follow the 8 steps:

  1. Find the queen and make sure to leave her in the original colony.
  2. Take 4 or 5 frames in total covered with bees. 2-3 frames with sealed brood and 2 frames containing honey and pollen.
  3. Place the frames in the following order: 1 frame of honey, 2-3 frames with brood and 1 with honey and pollen on the end of your new colony.
  4. Move the new colony 2-3 meters away. This allows the old flying bees to return to their original hive, so only the young bees are left in the new split.
  5. Place the caged queen between two combs of the brood, 4-5 hours after the nuclei have been established.
  6. Remove the cover in the candy section to allow the bees to eat the candy and release the queen themselves.
  7. If you have a lack of honey flow, it is a good idea to feed the colony a bit of syrup.
  8. The new colony should not be disturbed for at least 8-9 days. Rather than disturbing the bees to look for the queen, you can check for eggs or young larvae.

Safe introduction cannot be guaranteed !