Queen breeder wanted for export

Im looking for a commercial/hobbyist that would be able to supply queens for export.
I hope some one can help
Thanks

Export to where? For some countries, it is illegal! :blush: Also, what kind of price are you looking at, what are you willing to pay for shipping etc. All comes into the question of whether anyone could help you.

Hi Dawn
I know some one here who has an import permit for the Philippines.
I have looked at Redpaths beekeeping supplies Vic who are selling a queen package of 20 queens for $35.40 plus shipping ( not calculated until after you pay) contacted them via email but no reply yet. They sourse their product from Qld queen breeders.
As for shipping, I would be using an air freight service that I know located in Minto Sydney, that can ship on a Tuesday and deliver to my home in Angeles city on Thursday. Travel time 3 -4 days.
3.50 per kilo 10 handling charge and $30 delivery so aproximatly $45 all in all.

I think it would be cheaper for you to try and raise your own queens as the export process from Australia is costly. Not all apiarist’s have clearance to export. Australia has very tough quarantine laws. You could try
http://www.aussiequeenbees.com.au/breeders.htm

just curious after I read 20 queen bees for 35$… seemed awfully crazy cheap for 20 queens. Who would breed queens for $1.90 a pop? Looking at the Redpath site what they mean is- if you order more than 20- you get them for $35.40 per queen. So about $700 for 20. If you take into account export, taxes, customs fees- and queen deaths- they are going to cost a lot more than that I suspect. Time to start raising your own?

I recently read an article about a commercial beekepper in SA who requeens 1000 hives every year at a cost of $12 per queen.

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Wow.
Here i was thinking it was a bargain hahahaha
Never mind if thats the going price not much i can do about it.
The beekeepers here in Angels City have tried to raise queens , but they told me that each time they let them fly with the drones the local bee eating birds have a feast.
Which is way they asked me if I can find out about bees from Australia.
Looks like I need to do a lot more research …

Hi, I’m in Sydney Australia, As per previous comments $35.40 for 20 Queens cannot be right, it is just too cheap. Check their prices as I think there must be a mistake.
Having said that then the prices you have for freight are also cheap and if there are no other costs involved then go with them. Just check all the costs because I was caught out once before by what the freight company described as “on costs” like documentation, customs clearance etc.
In regard to supply, if you find that the price per queen is higher than stated then why not go to one of the larger Queen breeders and get their prices. They ship all over the world and would be able to advise on freight and handling etc.
If you want more local help then drop me a line.

Hi Mike
I realy appreciate the offer of help. Getting no where with sending emails as no one replies to my inquiries.

I can offer queens for 20 £ each … I have 21 for sale

I’m doing Queen Bee production in Michigan, U.S…get Back to me…

Has anyone heard more about this venture? It seems more sensible to breed queens locally or have I missed something?

I don’t think you missed anything as regards the Philippines or Australia, but breeding queens in the southern US is a very risky business, because of the number of feral hives which are Africanized.

We just inspected a hive today which we re-queened 6 weeks ago with a purchased Hawaiian queen. We have to do that because of the number of Africanized bees in our area. OMG, it was beemageddon. My husband got stung about 30 times (he was wearing aftershave :blush: ) He ran into the house, and we probably have another 50 bees in here with us right now. Most of them just want to go home, so I am not worried about that. I didn’t get stung at all through my bee suit or gloves, but they really tried, and we both stunk of bananas. I had to tell David to call it a day with opening the hives, because he isn’t a quitter, but sometimes you have to know when discretion is the better part of valour.

So what is my point? I thought we requeened this hive with a gentle queen 6 weeks ago. We have seen eggs and brood from the new queen. However, the hive is pretty close to being as hot as hell right now. Beg your pardon for the bad word, but it surely felt that way when we were under attack. So the hive should be completely repopulated in 9 weeks from our requeeening, but right now, they are very aggressive, even though the last queen was a “gentle local queen” about a year ago.

Local queens may not always be your best choice. Ours was certainly a disaster. I think our “local” bees have probably killed off the Hawaiian queen we introduced 6 weeks ago. If not, we have another 3 weeks of hell until her offspring take over the hive. Meanwhile my mentor is working out a schedule for removing our hive. If we can’t adjust their nature reliably, we may have to give up keeping bees in SoCal. It just isn’t fun for us or for our neighbours (even if they seem intolerant).

Give up keeping bees at home Dawn? Aww…
:anguished:

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Sorry to hear this Dawn. Surely there is a way…hopefully you will think of something… perhaps some sort of (great) generosity from someone with swapping over a bad colony for a good one…ie. moving the bad hive away and destroying it, and then replacing it with a good tempered hive that you have elsewhere (somehow!).

That is so sad to read Dawn after going the hard yards to get an Hawaiian Queen. So it begs the question as to how the aggressive trait has continued in the hive? and where do you go from now? From reading the Forum it seems a bit prevalent for Africanized bees in Southern Cal which must deter a lot of first time hobby bee keepers there after they experience a hot hive.
I haven’t seen it said in the forum but when a hive is hot by being disturbed it will only get worse and it is better to give that hive a miss for the day and lock them down so they can calm down for another day. I don’t recall a hot hive turning docile on the same day but a few days later they can be as docile ans lambs.

I am sure that you are correct, @Peter48 and that has certainly been my experience. I really think it was the right thing to close up the hive, especially given the number of stings David received. He counted 30 stingers in one sock, and I pulled 5 out of his bald scalp.

By way of an update, the bees let us have access to our back yard (garden) about an hour after we gave up. No chasing, bumping or stinging as long as we stayed at least 10 feet from the hive. This gives me hope that they are not africanized, just very cranky.

I discussed the hive with my mentor yesterday and again this morning, and he thinks it is worth giving them another couple of weeks without opening or moving the hive, so that the old queen’s workers will all phase out if our new queen did survive. He was very convinced that there is a good chance that the new queen is still fine, given the rapid calming of the hive within an hour or two. If that doesn’t work, he can take them away (for a fee :wink: ).

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@Dawn_SD I agree with your mentor, if there was no queen in the hive it would not have calmed down so quickly. From my past I recall a hot hive would not calm down that day but I suspected once they had an overnight break there was a marked change in their mood.
Sympathy for David, must have scare him and you both.
Post an update when you know if the queen has laying and that would be a good outcome when her progeny becomes dominant.
Regards

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Hi @Peter48, thank you for your message. I will certainly post an update.

I feel very fortunate to have this mentor. David and I have well over 30 years of beekeeping experience between us, but a lot of that was in the UK. We didn’t see much Varroa back then (pre-1997), and we certainly didn’t have SHB or Africanized bees.

My mentor has over 50 years of full time beekeeping experience in the San Diego region. He has many more than 100 hives and participates in commercial pollination, although he is very hands-on, with just one or two helpers for most management. Despite his commercial emphasis, he has the ideal character for us - friendly, supportive, confident but humble. He never makes us feel ignorant, he just shares information and guides us with what he knows. He is considerate of bees, and tries to minimize treatment of Varroa when possible. Having said that, he is pragmatic and has good judgement about when to treat etc. Solid gold. Sort of like this forum. :blush:

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I think you will find that the price quoted of AUD$35.40 plus shipping is PER Queen., so AUD$708 for the queens, or maybe more now based on 2020 prices. then shipping of say $45, then there might be clearance charges at the other end. Just check that the prices cover all costs such as documentation, and any customs charges.