Season's First Queens

We use our very best gentle, hygenic stock to raise our own queens. The new queen then emerges from her cell in her new hive. But obviously the story doesn’t stop there. For all this time and energy expended to be worthwhile, said Queen must mate with drones, or male bees, and then return to her hive and lay healthy eggs to create a strong hive.

So, we’re going to have a literal talk about the birds and the bees. Minus the birds.

On a day of about 70 degrees or warmer, the virgin Queen will take to the sky for her Mating Flight. The Queen does not fly well and does not fly often — she may never leave the hive again after mating. While she is high in the air, she will engage in beautiful flight dances with various drones that indicate a mutual willingness to mate. Ideally, the Queen will mate with at least 10 drones. In her abdomen, the Queen has a special organ called the spermatheca, which holds the sperm from each drone. She will use this sperm over the course of her lifetime as she lays eggs, so it is important that she is “well mated,” or mated with many drones. If she is not well mated, or mated at all, then she will be unable to produce healthy brood, and is worthless to the hive and to the beekeeper.