Blog

Updated Virgin Queen Introduction Protocol

You may have noticed that Stevens Bee Company stopped taking pre orders, and moved to posting "ready to ship" queen inventory. This took...

This year we started offering untested, or not yet laying II'd VSH breeder queens. These are VSH daughter queens that are II'd to a blend...

I have been exclusively using virgin queens in my operation, since started producing them years ago. I like using virgins as opposed to...

This is a very hot topic among beekeepers, and has sparked countless debates. So why not write a few thoughts about it? A short scan of...

What do people mean when they use the term resistant stock? The term resistant can address several behavioral or genetic traits that...

The first thing I look for in a potential cell building colony while I'm performing Spring inspections is size. When I pop the top, I...

Everything affects the quality of the queen. This is why I'm obsessive about the process of queen rearing. I want THE best quality queens...

I was taught instrumental insemination by Sue Cobey in the summer of 2014. Prior to learning "II" we'd purchased II'd breeding stock...

Varroa Sensitive Hygiene is a fascinating genetic trait that allows worker bees to detect female mites that are reproducing beneath a...

Sustainable beekeeping has become a topic of discussion in recent years, and rightfully so. Beekeeping used to be much easier and worry...