Meyer Bees local queens are our local mutt queens that we have been working on for the past 10+ years and are considered Northern Illinois queens. Queens for sale for pickup at our Minooka, IL apiary – or queens can be shipped across the USA . We are located in the Chicago Illinois area and therefore we are unable to produce local queens until our weather warms up and we have sufficient drones available. Our mutt queens combine overwintering, VSH queen and mite biter queen traits. The northern queen rearing warmup typically happens sometime in late April or early May – each year is different. The northern queen availability dates will depend on local weather and success with our mating nucs.
Meyer Bees local queen mutts for:
- We have been raising Northern local queens for over 15 years
- These queens are daughters of our best overwintered colonies queens from the prior year
- Colony and mother queen must survive one of more Chicagoland winters (some are going on 3 years!)
- Colony must produce 125+ pounds of excess honey in prior year
- Colony must have a gentle temperament and be easy to work
- Colony must show mite and disease resistance
These 2024 Meyer Bees queens are grafted and produced from our best colonies that successfully survive the 2023 winter into 2024. These colonies are located in Northern Illinois all season long and are not moved for pollination or other purposes. Some beekeepers refer to these colonies as survivor stock bees since they are being produced from colonies that have shown adaptability / success in surviving Northern Illinois / Chicago winters and have strong buildup in the early spring. The queen and her colony would be considered “Meyer Mutts” and are a good blend of honeybee genetic traits.
Meyer Bees packages are available for a short period of time in May. Also, we have a small number of overwintered nucs available in 2024 with their 2023 Meyer Bees survivor stock queens.
Additional information related to Meyer Bees local queens for sale:
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- We have been working with Harbo Bee Company VSH breeder queens for the past 8 years and have been performing various crosses into our stock. Our Meyer Bees local stock has shown VSH traits from this stock.
- Also, we have been working with Purdue Mite Biter breeder queens for the past 10 years and have been performing various crosses into our stock. We have observed worker bee mite biting in our local mutt stock.
- Meyer Bees is an Illinois Queen Initiative producer member since 2014
- Meyer Bees is a member of the Heartland Honey Bee Breeders Coop
