Suggested Questions for Queen Purchasers:
Where did you obtain your stock?
Strain of bees (Russian, Carniolan, Caucasian, Italian) – do you sell hybrids or maintain separate yards for breeds?
How long have you been selective breeding?
What traits to do you track and what priority do you give to the each trait?
What are the selection criteria options that a purchaser can request?
For example: Are some queen mothers chosen for different traits and can daughters mated for specific traits be requested?
When are queens available?
Overwintered or Current year?
If they are current year queens, how long are they allowed to lay before they are pulled?
Cost of queen? (Discount for volume?)
Queen questions committee 2017: Eric Strongen, Rudi Peters Brenda Jager