Buy a queen cell grafted from one of our carefully selected breeder queens, and then allow the virgin that emerges to mate with the drones in your own neighborhood.
Our breeder queens are:
1. Regionally Adapted: the core of our stock has spent many years here in the Ridge and Valley Appalachians near the Potomac River, and our breeder queens must do well through not only at least one of our winters but also a spring, summer and fall
2. Productive and Gentle: our breeder queen colonies must produce surplus honey/brood -- and not be unusually defensive
3. Treatment-Free Survivors: our breeder queen colonies must successfully overwinter in the presence of varroa mites and without chemical treatments
4. Hygienic: our breeder queen colonies must demonstrate hygienic traits by scoring high during a UBeeO test (≥60%) and/or Harbo assay (3 or 4)
Weather permitting, we expect the first queen cells to be available before May 1, on a first-come-first-served basis
Potomac River Queen Cell
It is a sad reality that not all queens emerge from their cell. If you experience this with one of our queen cells, we will give you a replacement free of charge.
Queen cells may be picked up at 2407 Spohrs Rd, Berkeley Springs, WV 25411. Please wait for email confirmation that your order is ready.
