Queens purchased from far away locations, typically from southern state, do not survive well in the cool damp Pacific Northwest. To avoid this yearly high hive loss and associated costs, Northwest Queens has stepped up to offer the following:
1. A management philosophy that allows for “Sustainable Beekeeping”. Applying this approach, all losses are replaced from within, not purchased yearly. This keeps your apiary genetics closed to outside potentially undesirable factors. New genetics should only be added after careful evaluation and should be a part of your breeding plan.
2. Northwest Queens’ ongoing mission is to develop queens suited for the Northwest climate that are very disease and parasite resistant without compromising honey production. Here we have taken a strong position on not using any form of treatment, natural or otherwise, just “bees in a box”. This might sound brutal at first, but keep in mind the program was started back when mites were nowhere as aggressive as they are today. Hives could live several years back then without treatment. Today I call the varroa a pest that will quickly drive a hive to death and move on by robbers to the next, a rinse and repeat scenario. Luckily my genetics with their grooming and SMR+ mite resistant is keeping ahead of the evolving mites thanks to the treatment class of beekeepers. Throughout the year many of my hives have near zero mite levels.
3. Improvements in the hive design have been and will continue to be made to address unique climate factors as well as creating a more hostile environment for their enemies. This will include methods to reduce the moisture in unwanted areas with the hive. No wax foundation is ever purchased due to the chemical contamination. I have the machines to make my own which I use for comb honey. Plastic frames get a generous coating from my capping wax.
4. Finding electronic solutions to manage pest problems is an ongoing effort. Electronic method for reducing the varroa mite levels within the hive is not easy to solve. This coming year 2025 I hope to see phase 1 testing begin. Still not completed to a satisfactory level is the in-hive portion. Sensitive decisions are made at the mite size level and fabricating is not easy. Prototype testing so far has exposed a series of shortcomings that have been slow to address with my busy schedule.
Over the many years of queen distribution, we are building a team of beekeepers with similar views as ours. Their input helps greatly in the selection process. If you have common goals aligned with what we are doing, now is the time share ideas on how we can all work together. Working together we can do amazing things.
I hope you will want to be part of this,
Mark Adams
Winter 2008 in the Northwest:
