Queens

Queen Exchange

Do you have a healthy, treatment free hive, and want to share your queens cells with other WNC bee keepers but don't really want to be a 'queen breeder'?

GREAT! Just post on https://asheville.craigslist.org and put:

#WNCQBC

somewhere in your post. We are working on code that will find and insert those listings here to make it easy for everyone in WNC to find folks with healthy genetics they would like to share! Until then, if you're looking for queen cells or virgin/mated queens folks want to share, just search for the hashtag above on craigslist and maybe you'll get lucky. You can also submit availability of queen cells to the Bee Centric Alliance's mail list, or your local county club's mail list.

Queens for sale

Are you a treatment free queen breeder with queens for sale in WNC?

Is there demand for certified treatment free queens in WNC?

A certified naturally grown program exists for apiaries, but they allow natural miticides: http://www.cngfarming.org/apiary

Should that be a requirement on top of the ideas below?

Proposed WNCQBC Certification Requirements:

WNCQBC has been granted permission to inspect the apiary and equipment storage areas without notice.
No chemicals ("soft" or "hard"), or techniques (other than re-queening) are used on any colonies within the apiary with the intent to 'kill mites'.
Breeders pledge to only sell queens bred from colonies with queens that have been able to survive untreated for at least one year.
Certification cost $10/year (for counties that border Buncombe, currently the only ones we certify).

Have ideas/suggestions for Treatment Free WNC Queen Breeding Certification Requirements?

Dr. John Kefuss, demonstrating grafting with a Chinese Grafting tool (though he Still prefers to use a match stick with the end crimped in his teeth!).