We start with Carnolian, and Saskatraz queen bees. Because these strains do well in cooler, wet climates and are good honey producers, they are great bee for the PNW. 

While our Saskatraz queens have come through Olivarez Honey Bees and the Canadian Saskatraz breeding program, when virgin queen bees take to their mating flight, they mate with 13-15 different drones, so every time a colony re-queens itself, the original strain of breed is diluted somewhat and is no longer the pure breed the colony started with. This diversity is actually healthy and overwintering is actually the best way to have bees that are acclimated to any region.

Each colony has only one queen and the colony knows their queen by her pheromone. Queens are typically productive for about two years and lay between 1500-3000 eggs each day!