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2026 Italian-Carniolan Cross Queen, Mated, and in JZBZ CAGES with a 3 DAY candy plug. THESE QUEENS ARE NOT MARKED. Pick Up at Store Only in Colorado Springs. We do NOT ship queens. Ready for pickup Saturday, May 2nd, 2026.
TO PURCHASE A QUEEN FOLLOW THESE EXACT INSTRUCTIONS: ADD THE DESIRED NUMBER OF QUEENS TO YOUR CART. PROCEED TO CHECKOUT. SELECT "PICKUP IN-STORE". INDICATE THE DATE AND TIME (within our business hours) TO PICKUP YOUR QUEEN. ORDERS FOR NEXT DAY PICKUP MUST BE PLACED BEFORE 5 PM THE DAY PRIOR. WE ARE CLOSED ON SUNDAYS AND MONDAYS.
***When you receive a "READY FOR PICKUP" NOTIFICATION...IT MEANS THAT IT IS READY FOR PICKUP THE NEXT BUSINESS DAY....WE ARE CLOSED ON SUNDAYS, MONDAYS, AND SOME HOLIDAYS***
If you did not select "PICKUP IN STORE" when checking out, you will have to call the store and let us know when you are coming to get your queen so we know when to bring the queen to the store...otherwise, we may not have her there for you when you come. 719-375-5094.
PLEASE MAKE SURE WE HAVE A GOOD EMAIL AND PHONE NUMBER FOR YOU.
ALL QUEENS MUST BE PICKED UP WITHIN TWO BUSINESS DAYS AFTER ORDER.
All orders are FINAL. There will be a $30 re-stocking fee on unwanted queens that have not left the store. There are NO REFUNDS on queens that have left the store. NO EXCEPTIONS.
We cannot bank queens for you. We cannot guarantee the quality of any queens that we hold for you. WE DO NOT GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL BE SUCCESSFULLY ABLE TO INTRODUCE A QUEEN INTO ANY HIVE; SEE "NOTICE" AND "PREPARING YOUR HIVE TO ACCEPT A QUEEN" BELOW.
We do not "reserve" queens. Please time your purchase and pickup in a time frame that will work for you.
NOTICE: You cannot install a queen by herself into an empty hive or she will die. You must have 10,000 worker bees in order for her to survive. These cages have a CANDY PLUG...your queen will be released by the workers within 3 to 5 days after hanging her for acceptance. Unsure how to hang a queen for acceptance? Try one of our Queen Cage Holders. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOUR QUEEN IS REJECTED OR DIES AFTER YOU LEAVE THE STORE WITH HER. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOUR QUEEN FLIES OFF WHEN YOU GO TO RELEASE HER FROM THE CAGE IF SHE HAS NOT ALREADY BEEN RELEASED BY THE WORKER BEES.
The Italian-Carniolan bee is a cross mated bee that retains the best traits of both breeds. Italian queens are mated with Carniolan drones to produce a hardy queen bee that passes on the traits of both breeds. Known for their gentleness, these queens are great for beginner beekeepers. They brood up quickly in spring and go in with a smaller cluster for winter. Queens produced from this breeder are open-mated with all of their stock for genetic diversity and vigor. These winter well in Colorado and are great for beginners.
Italian traits:
NOTICE: You cannot install a queen by herself into an empty hive or she will die. You must have some worker bees in order for her to survive.
Preparing Your Hive to Accept Your Queen: In order for a hive to accept a new queen, you must make sure that your hive is queen-less. Queenless means that there isn't a virgin queen in there (which happens after a hive swarms). A hive "in transition" after it has swarmed will need about three weeks for a virgin queen to become mated and begin to lay eggs. Many times, a hive will recognize a queen cell as their queen or a laying worker as their queen and reject a new queen that you introduce. A hive may also be queen-less if the queen, for some reason has become old or injured and has died. Before introducing a new queen, make sure you have removed any virgin queens, laying worker, or queen cells and give them 24 to 48 hours to realize they are queen-less. Hives with hot or Africanized genetics are typically harder to re-queen...try smoking the hive a bit to get rid of old pheromone and use a re-queening frame.