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2024 Caucasian Queen Marked, Mated, and in JZBZ Cages with candy plugs. Pick Up at Store Only in Colorado Springs. We do NOT ship queens. Before you come at me about the price, these are Sue Colbe's genetic stock and I had to be on the waiting list for a year to get them.
These queens will be ready for pickup May 28th, 2024.
Queens produced from this breeder are open-mated daughters from instrumentally inseminated breeder queens from one of the top queen breeders in the US. Linage - Open mated F1 daughters of Dr. Sue Cobey’s Breeder Queens
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.
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 2 BUSINESS DAYS AFTER YOUR ORDER IS PLACED.
All orders are FINAL. There will be a $40 re-stocking fee on unwanted Caucasian 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. You need to pick up your queen no later than TWO BUSINESS DAYS after your purchase and/or notification call.
We do not "reserve" or "hold" 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 some 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. It is your responsibility to check and make sure that she released after that time period.
The Caucasian honey bee is native to the country of Georgia in the Caucasus mountain region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea; mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia . They build up more slowly in the spring, which is an excellent trait for long Colorado winters. An Old World type, Caucasians are revered for their honey production and their extreme gentleness. Of all the honeybee varieties, Caucasians have the longest tongues which allows them to forage flowers that others cannot. They also fly earlier in the spring, and later in the fall when the Colorado weather is cooler. Additionally, they produce more propolis (a substance they make with tree resin that is antibacterial, antifungal, and antimicrobial that keeps the hive sanitary and sealed off from cold drafts) than other strains resulting in a cleaner, more hygienic hive. Caucasians are known for being able to withstand harsh winters with smaller clusters and are frugal with their winter honey stores. They also tend to be less swarm prone than other varieties and have low mite counts.
Queens produced from this breeder are open-mated daughters from instrumentally inseminated breeder queens from one of the top queen breeders in the US. Linage - Open mated F1 daughters of Dr. Sue Cobey’s Breeder Queens
Caucasian 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.