Learn More about our Buckfast and Carniolan Queen Bees
UK-Bred Buckfast Queens (Selected Breeding Stock)
We use selected breeding stock to produce British queen bees for sale and for use in our own production colonies. We breed from Buckfast mother lines we favour at Honeyfields for:
Gentle, workable temperament
Good honey production
Strong brood patterns, leading to large colonies
The ability to come through the sometimes harsh English winter
Imported Queens (Inspected & Certified)
We import Buckfast and Carniolan queen bees for use in our nuc production and for sale separately. Imported queens can be more readily available earlier in the season due to favourable breeding conditions on the continent.
All imported queens:
come from a trusted European breeder
arrive with a health certificate
are inspected on arrival by the National Bee Unit (NBU)
All of our queen bees are produced/imported and sold in line with UK legislation and NBU guidance, helping ensure every queen you receive is healthy, robust and compliant with best beekeeping practice.
Please see our Sale Of Live Bees Policy.
Looking After Your Queen on Arrival
When your queen arrives:
keep her in a calm, room-temperature environment (not hot, not cold) avoid leaving her in direct sunlight or in a vehicle, plan to introduce her as soon as practical, following our guide
How to Introduce a Queen Bee (Overview)
Introducing a queen successfully is all about giving the colony time to accept her. In most cases:
make sure the colony is truly queenless (or you’ve removed the old queen) and allow time for the bees to realise they need a queen. Introduce the new queen using the recommended method (typically via a cage) avoid repeated disturbances while the colony is accepting her.