WE OFFER TWO TYPES OF CARNIOLAN QUEEN BEES FOR SALE:
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1) Selected breeder queens (F0) (or pedigree queens)We offer high quality selected pure-bred queen bees for sale. The young queen bees are bred from breeding material, taken from a chosen and carefully selected breeding line of Carniolan honey bee. Young hatched queen bees are then placed in breeding nucleus in an isolated mountain breeding station, where they mate with drones from another, separate breeding line. Special care is placed on the selection of the drone colonies and all nucleus hives are sifted to remove drones from other colonies, thus ensuring the pedigree of the mated queen bees.
Each queen receives a transcript from the herd book, which includes her ancestry and the breeding line's name. At the moment, we keep several breeding lines, named after famous slovenian beekeepers who made the original selection. The selected lines also have historical and genetic value and are registered as a part of the cultural heritage of Slovenia. We offer newly mated and overwintered breeder queens. Orders are accepted from the beginning of January and are closed when the capacity is full, on the first-come, first-served basis. Due to the limitations of the breeding station we have a limited number of selected pure bred queen bees available each year. 2) Hive mated Carniolan queen bees (F1)We also offer hive mated Carniolan queen bees for sale. The young queen bees are bred from selected breeding material of a pure-bred queen. The mating takes place on a less elevated and isolated breeding station, which means that the queen bees can mate also with drones from other hives, which are not necessarilly from a selected line.
Each queen is checked for good laying pattern in the breeding hive and is also marked. Due to the capacity of the breeding hive, we can check the quality of her brood and young bees, ensuring only the best queens are sent to our customers. She receives a certificate of authenticity (Due to the fact that all bees in Slovenia must be Apis mellifera carnica, we offer only 100% Carniolan queen bees and honey bees). We offer newly mated and overwintered queens. The new mating season begins after May 15th each year. |
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SELECTED PEDIGREE QUEENS AND HIVE MATED QUEENS?
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The main difference between selected pedigree queen bees and hive mated queen bees is in the mating process. To guarantee a pure and controlled selection process, the queen bee breeder needs to be sure of the origin of the drones. This can be done in two ways: either by artificial insemination or by mating of queens on an isolated mating station.
For selected pedigree queens, the isolation is necessary to ensure that the mating is successful and that we are 100% sure of the drone's origin. Such a queen will have the highest possible performance and brood pattern due to the high genetic potential of herself and the drone line. Such isolation also facilitates selection and enables us to strive towards more resistant colonies. For selected pedigree queens we can also trace their ancestry on maternal and paternal side. This is especially important for further breeding of F1 queens, which is why queen bee breeders require F0 queen bees. You can read more on how we provide isolation on our mountain breeding station for queen bees here. |
For hive mated queens, such isolation is not necessarily needed and drone origin can vary. In this case, we know the maternal line, which is F0 selected queen, but we cannot 100% guarantee the origin of the drone. Such a queen (F1) is normally not used for further breeding, but is excellent for honey, pollen or royal jelly production.
ABOUT QUALITY CONTROL AND SELECTION
BREEDING STANDARDS AND CONTROL
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Our breeding station is part of the Austrian Carnica Association or ACA and all queens, bred at our breeding station are part of the ACA controls and check-ups. All queens receive a transcript from the ACA herd book as well as the appropriate queen number, which certifies them as authentic Carniolan queen bees.
The queens are bred in larger breeding hives to ensure the quality of their brood once mated. Each queen bee remains in the hive until her own bees start hatching. Before sending, all queen bees are routinely checked for signs of disease and nosemae. Due to the isolation of the breeding station, we can always be sure that the bees are free of cotagious bee diseases, such as American and Europea foulbrood. The health of the queen bees is attested by a health certificate, issued by the Slovenian animal health authority. |
