Pickup in Shoreline, WA in early to mid April.

3 lbs of bees with a Golden West queen. These queens are from Randy Oliver's queen rearing program (scientificbeekeeping.com), raised by Olivarez Honey Bees for package production. This is the second year that Randy's queens will be available in package form, and we were impressed with their performance in the first year in our apiaries.

The Golden West queen line come from Eric, Ian, and Randy Oliver, of Golden West Bees and scientificbeekeeping.com. The Olivers keep their bees in the foothills of northern California. While it's not Washington, the bees experience the full range of weather, and adapt well to our area. We've used the Olivers' bees ourselves for the last 8 years, and they have done a terrific job with both survival and honey production in our cold, wet, unpredictable Puget Sound climate.

Randy Oliver is known for his honey bee research, and it shows in the bees that he and his sons raise. They are productive, gentle, and have a reasonable degree of mite resistance (NOT mite immunity). If well managed, hives headed by the Olivers' queens will serve you well for many years.

Expected delivery mid-April, subject to change based on weather and availability.