Locally Adapted Virgin Queens

At Broadsbee we believe that the future of honeybees in the UK is best safeguarded by avoiding the import of stock from overseas.  This helps to safeguard against the introduction of new pests and disease whilst also ensuring that the bees which we keep are best suited to the climate of the British Isles.  For that reason we select our Queen Mothers by carefully choosing from our own colonies in the heart of the Norfolk Broads.

We score our queens through the season based on their temperament, their productivity, both brood and honey, their swarming tendencies and then as we come out of the winter each year, how well they have come through and started to lay again.  From this information we use the best that we have to produce Queens for our own operation and to offer for sale.

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 unless you specify otherwise when ordering.

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.