Description
Now taking orders for 2025
Saskatraz Queen traits:
- Excellent honey production
- Good wintering ability
- Selected for increased varroa tolerance and resistance to brood diseases
- Show increased hygienic behavior
Saskatraz hybrids are produced in Northern California (Orland area) exclusively by Olivarez Honey Bees (OHB) using Saskatraz breeder queens constructed in Saskatchewan, Canada by Meadow Ridge Enterprises
All of our queens are mated
Shipping Details:
During the shipping season, orders placed on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will not be shipped until the following Monday. Orders placed Mon-Thurs. will be shipped on the same or next day. All queens are shipped UPS Next Day Air (exceptions for Ground Shipping apply in parts of WI, MN, and MI)
Queens are also available for purchase In-Store during business hours. Queens are only caged once a day, and certain breeds may sell out by the end of the day. We recommend calling ahead to guarantee availability if you want to get a specific queen type.
Queen Orders of 8 or less will be shipped in 3 Hole queen cages with attendants. Shipped in an envelope or small overnight box
Queen Order of 9+ will be shipped in Mini Cages with candy tubes in a bag under the queens. Shipped in a Screen Shipping Box with loose bulk bees.
TO READ OUR QUEEN SHIPPING POLICY CLICK HERE
Queen Options:
- No Option Added – No Marking or Clipping.
- Queen Clipping – These queens will have 1 wing Clipped.
- Queen Marking – These queens will be marked with a painted dot on her thorax (Color will depend on the year).
- Queen Marking and Clipping – These queens will be marked with a painted dot on her thorax (Color will depend on the year) and 1 wing will be Clipped.
**(Package Bees include a queen in the package)
Queen Replacement video featuring Randy Oliver, Watch here.
More Information from the breeders at OHB:
Saskatraz hybrids are produced in Northern California (Orland area) exclusively by Olivarez Honey Bees using Saskatraz breeder queens constructed in Saskatchewan, Canada by Meadow Ridge Enterprises. Saskatraz breeder queens are selected for honey production, wintering ability, temperament, tracheal mite resistance, varroa tolerance / resistance and brood diseases. The Saskatraz breeding program uses recurrent natural selection to select for varroa tolerance in productive colonies with good economic traits. We have found varroa tolerance is not a stable trait, with considerable variability in the daughters of selected breeder queen’s. In the last 3 or 4 years we have crossed high VSH lines with our naturally selected colonies to try and increase stability of the varroa tolerant trait. This looks to be promising and new lines are currently being evaluated. However, we have also noted that treatment with some synthetic miticides, although initially effective in lowering phoretic varroa infestations, may negatively affect the colonies ability to cope with subsequent mite infestations. Some miticide treatments may also result in increased virus infections, particularly in varroa susceptible phenotypes. (Unpublished data)
Saskatraz hybrids are being produced in Northern California using virgin queens from diverse families of Saskatraz breeder queens and open mating them with unrelated drone populations in the Orland area. These queens produce colonies with genetically diverse workers. This diversity results in increased vigor, and analyses of hybrid queens in Canada is showing fast spring build up and increases in honey production. Attention to fall stores for wintering and in the spring is necessary.
Use of Saskatraz hybrid stock in your apiaries should provide drone populations which will increase the frequency of alleles for honey production and varroa tolerance, as well as other economic traits. This is because drones from the hybrids carry the genetics of their mother, the breeder queen.
- OHB queens are Certified free from Africanized Genetics
- OHB is Certified free from Small Hive Beetle