Sold out for 2008

Unless we get a bumper crop

Queens for Sale

Building waiting list for the year 2009

About My Queens

I've been catching feral swarms for 32 years, but I got serious about keeping the genetics only recently. These feral survivors are the basis of the genetics of the bees I keep now. I started offering them for sale in 2004. I plan to have a limited number of queens from the black feral stock available at the end of June of 2009. Some queens come out black, some are Tiger Striped and a few are Gold.

2009 Price Schedule

$20 shipping and handling per shipment.
$29 each for unspecified color (could be gold, tiger striped or black)
$34 each for specified color (gold would be mostly yellow with maybe a little black, tiger striped would be about fifty/fifty and black would be mostly black with maybe a little brown striping)
$34 each for last year's proven queens of unspecified color
$39 each for last year's proven queens of specified color

For those still waiting for 2008:

2008 Price Schedule

$20 shipping and handling per shipment.
$24 each for unspecified color (could be gold, tiger striped or black)
$29 each for specified color (gold would be mostly yellow with maybe a little black, tiger striped would be about fifty/fifty and black would be mostly black with maybe a little brown striping)
$29 each for last year's proven queens of unspecified color
$34 each for last year's proven queens of specified color

I am sorry, but the 2008 queens are running behind as it's been raining constantly all spring and mating has not gone well. I'm sorry for the delay. If you need queens right away you should probably get them from someone else. I will notify everyone as they become available.

Shipping

They will be shipped Express mail by USPS which should be overnight for most locations.

Caveats

I've found queen rearing to be very unpredictable, so my plan for 2008 is to put people on a waiting list and I will contact you when I have a queen available for you and ship when you confirm. I really cannot predict when I'll have queens and if I run out of the waiting list, I'll post availability on the Yahoo Organic, Beesource and Beemaster forums. The demand is high and my supply is small, so I would not make any firm plans around deliverability. I did not have enough queens in 2007 and that possibility exists for 2008. I will do my best to try to increase the production, but in the end it's up to the weather and the bees sometimes.

How to Get on the Waiting List

If you would like some queens, please email me. I need: Your name and address, the number of queens you want, color preferences, and a contact phone number if you want the Post Office to call you.

Payment

I do not want payment until I am ready to ship. Payment can be made through PayPal to the email address above or you can send me a personal check.

Shipping Options

Also, I can require a signature or not on the shipment. You should think about the ramifications and which would best suit your situation. When a signature is required the Post Office will not deliver the queens if you are not there. Instead they will return them to the Post Office, after the carrier is done with their route. This means the queens often get caught in a game of deliver tag where they are on the truck on their way to you all the time but never get delivered. On the other hand requiring a signature can prevent them from leaving them in a hot mailbox. For busy people who have to work, it usually works better to not require the signature. I know when I have a package that requires a signature they never even knock on the door even though there are people here all the time and I end up playing tag for a day or two.

It's helpful if you notify your Post Office that you are expecting the queens. You can give any special instructions, like don't leave them in the black mailbox in the sun, leave them in the shade on the porch, or whatever fits your situation.