Each spring, we purchase a few Carniolan queens from the southern regions. These queens are used to back fill for some of the nucleus colonies (Nucs) that we build up and sell during the early spring season. They also produce unrelated drones, helping ensure strong genetic diversity for our future queen matings.

Before any queen is used in our breeding program, she must meet our high standards for gentleness and other desirable Carniolan traits. Any queen that fails to meet these standards is replaced.

Carniolan bees are an excellent choice for colder climates. They’re known for their ability to forage on cool, damp days when other bees may remain in the hive. They have a remarkable spring buildup once nectar becomes available and are recognized for their outstanding honey production. Our early-season Nucs come from proven, successfully overwintered colonies.

The queens we sell later in the season come directly from our own Tiger Mountain Bees Apiary. We carefully select breeder queens that have consistently demonstrated exceptional traits including productivity, temperament, and overall colony health.

New queens are grafted from these proven breeder hives and mate naturally with unrelated drones in the area, promoting strong genetics and high-quality colonies for beekeepers who choose Tiger Mountain Bees.