Virgin Queen Raised from a Jolanta™ Breeder Queen

Over the winter we took the decision to invest in our queen rearing program and obtain a Jolanta™ Breeder Queen from Denrosa Apiaries in Scotland.  We'd heard amazing things about the breeding programme which Jolanta Modliszewska runs up there, taking advantage of the pick of their 5,000 colonies.  We asked for permission to be allowed to sell the offspring of our treasured new breeder queen and were happy to be granted that.  Of course these virgin queens will be mated with your local drone stock, so they remain offspring of a Jolanta™ breeder queen and can't be sold as Jolanta™ Queens, but with the head-start of her genetics I'm sure that you'll be pleased with the results.

Our Virgin Queens have been raised using all the same techniques and care as our mated queens, however they will have just emerged from their cells and have not been introduced to a colony to mate.  For this reason they are cheaper, but will not be laying immediately.  These will need to be carefully introduced to a queenless colony and allowed time to mate before they begin to lay.

We normally only offer virgin queens when we have run out of space to mate them.

Our Virgin Queens will be marked with the appropriate colour for the year.  We have found no difference in their ability to be well mated, marked or unmarked.

If we are showing these Queens in stock, then we will despatch the day after ordering.  If we are showing out of stock please do email for an eta on our next expected Queens.

Please note we will only post within the UK.  We will deliver locally for free to NR12, NR28 and NR29 postcodes.  All shipping for queens otherwise is priced at £9.50 for Royal Mail Signed for 24hr before 1pm.  Queens can not be posted through a letter box, you MUST be available to sign for them.  We will not be liable for any damaged or dead queens due to you not being available to sign for their delivery.  We only package the queens up on the day of dispatch so that they are caged for the minimum amount of time.  On arrival they should be introduced to a colony as quickly as possible.  They may arrive thirsty although there is food and attendant bees with them for transit so consider smearing some water on the cage with your finger immediately.

Dead on Arrival.  Should a queen arrive dead on arrival then we will refund or replace her.  We will require her to be returned to us in the sealed cage and you must take a video of her in the cage next to a picture of your order number.  Please email us for further instructions.

For advice on queen introduction click here.

Virgin Queens are cheaper because of the risks of the queen leaving to successfully mate.  The weather could be bad, predators could pick her off, or she could fail to find her way home.  If you don't accept these risks then perhaps buy a mated queen, or double up on virgins to increase your chances of success.