Queen bee resources

Quality, regionally-adapted queens are the cornerstone of any successful apiary.  This resource page is dedicated to giving members information on how to raise their own quality honey bee queens, as well as a list of local/regional queen suppliers.

Raise your own

• NRVBA Past President Jerry Borger’s methods
• California commercial beekeeper Randy Oliver’s “Queens for Pennies” method.

Regional queen suppliers

• Borger Apiaries: Jerry Borger at twoltcols@verizon.net, 540-557-7789.
• Happy Hollow Bees and Honey just outside of Blacksburg owned and operated by member and NRVBA President Richard Reid has mated queens and occasionally virgin queens for sale during the season. Happy Hollow Bees are locally mated and raised without mite treatments or antibiotics. Reid strives to include a variety of mite- and disease-tolerant genetics into his stocks, including VSH, Carniolan, Italian and Russian, as well as selecting for gentleness, good wintering ability and spring buildup and honey production. Contact: rkereid@comcast.net or 540-320-0763.
• Fred Jones of Wholly Honey Bees LLC in Pilot, Virginia produces mated queens from VSH Spartan Carniolan 2.2 and VSH Harbo breeder queens. In 2024 we will begin producing queens from high UBeeO tested stock. Our preferred contact information is through email at: whollyhoneybees@gmail.com. We can also be reached by cell phone at 276-952-7261.
• RANDY MUIR of MUIR ENTERPRISES, LLC. All natural beekeeper located 7 miles outside Radford in the Snowville area of Pulaski County. Keeps records of queen performance (mite management, demeanor, honey production and winter survival) and raises queens from the top performers. TEXT him at 540-230-7703.