





Questions & Answers
Why should I buy a queen bee?
In short, the advantages of buying a pre-mated queen honey bee are as follows. Speed: you don't need to wait for a queen to be mated which can take up to 4 weeks. Reliability: It's not a guarantee that the queen will be mated. She could get eaten by a blackbird on her mating flight. Genetics: Our Buckfast mated queen's mothers are some of the best genetics in the country. Known for their docile temperament and fantastic honey production.
How do the queen bees arrive?
Each queen bee arrives in a plastic butler cage. This is full of fondant (hard sugar paste) that the bees feed on. The queen comes marked with the colour of the year (blue for 2025). They are able to live in here for a few days after the queen arrives, but we'd recommend that they get into the hive within 1 day.
Do I need more than just a queen to start a colony?
Yes. You will need to do a split from an existing colony of bees or use the queen the replace an existing colony's queen.
What are Buckfast bees?
Buckfast is a breed of bee. They were selectively bred by Brother Adam at Buckfast Abby in England in the 1900s. They have become the industry standard in beekeeping for their calm nature, disease resistance and great honey production.
Are these mated queen bees or virgins?
These are mated queen bees for sale, not vigrins. This means that there is no need to wait for the queen to get mated they're ready to go. This gives you the advantage of not having to wait 3-4 weeks for a queen to mate and lay. You can have a new queen up and running in as little time as 7 days.
What does the 'F1' part stand for?
F1 stands for 'first filial generation'. This means that they are the direct, pure offspring of a F0 Buckfast mother. It's the closest genetics you can get to a pure-bread Buckfast honey bee queen without the need for complex (and expensive) instrumental insemination.
Where do these queen bees ship from?
Our queen bees ship direct from Kent, UK with Royal Mail Special Delivery. This way we can guarantee that they'll arrive in the best condition.
Will my queen arrive marked?
Yes, we mark all our queens with POSCA paint. Your queen will come marked with the colour of the year (blue for 2025)
Will my queen arrive clipped?
No, unfortunately, we are unable to provide clipped queens at this current time. We are working on adding the ability for customers to choose this.