Out of stock for 2023. Pre Order For 2024. 
 
Italian Ligustica Mated Queen
 
When ordering Italian Ligustica Mated Queens you will receive the following:
 
A marked (yellow for 2022), open mated, Italian Ligustica Mated Queen in a slow release queen introduction cage. Queens are not clipped and we do not offer this service. If you order more than one queen, they will arrive in separate cages (along with attendant bees).
A5 introduction postcard detailing successful methods for introduction and QR codes for support videos on our YouTube channel. 
Orders will arrive in a ventilated cardboard container. Your consignment will require a signature on arrival.
On placement of order you will receive an email confirmation. On the day of dispatch, you will receive a tracking code which can be tracked at Royal MaiL
 
Queens should be introduced to the beehives as soon as they are delivered. They can be introduced into a colony on the same day as dispatching the queen but fondant tabs should only be opened once the colony is hopelessly queenless. 
 
Here is a link to our YouTube channel on how to successfully introduce queens. We cannot be held liable for any failed queen introductions. Bees are wild creatures and successful introduction is never guaranteed.
 
https://youtu.be/KgzZ7Ik2Msk
 
Mated queen bees are natural creatures and although we can advise you on how to achieve the best introduction success, we cannot be held liable for any failed queen introductions.
 
Apis mellifera ligustica is the Italian bee which is a subspecies of the western honey bee (Apis mellifera). Is the most common subspecies of bees, through its adaptability to different climates. Introduced in the United States (1859), Australia (1862), Finland (1866), New Zealand (1880). In China, specially selected, is used for the intensive production of royal jelly (its productivity is higher than 1600% of not selected bees).
 
Origin
The Italian honey bee is thought to originate from the continental part of Italy, south of the Alps, and north of Sicily. The subspecies may have survived the last Ice Age in Italy. It is genetically a different subspecies than that from the Iberian peninsula and from Sicily. It is the most widely distributed of all honey bees, and has proven adaptable to most climates from subtropical to cool temperate, but it is less successful in humid tropical regions. It is sometimes called the Ligurian bee.

Italian bees, having been conditioned to the warmer climate of the central Mediterranean, are less able to cope with the "hard" winters and cool, wet springs of more northern latitudes. They do not form such tight winter clusters. More food has to be consumed to compensate for the greater heat loss from the loose cluster. The tendency to raise broods late in autumn also increases food consumption.