You can get a queen bee from national beekeeping suppliers that ship live queens through the mail, from local breeders found through your state beekeeping association, or from regional apiaries that allow pickup. Prices typically range from $30 to $55 for a standard mated queen, with specialty genetics costing more. The best source depends on your climate, your goals for the hive, and how far the queen needs to travel.
National Suppliers That Ship Queens
Large beekeeping supply companies like Mann Lake Bee & Ag Supply ship mated queens across the country. Mann Lake offers several breed options raised in different regions: Italian queens from Florida, Carniolan queens, Russian-Carniolan hybrids from California, and even vaccinated Italian queens from Hawaii. Other well-known national suppliers include Olivarez Honey Bees, Betterbee, and Dadant & Sons. Most begin taking orders in late winter for spring delivery, and popular breeds sell out fast.
These companies ship queens in small cages with a handful of attendant worker bees and a plug of sugar candy that feeds them during transit. USPS handles most live bee shipments and requires special handling service for bulk bee packages. Queens travel via Priority Mail or Express Mail to minimize time in transit, and shipments must be clearly labeled as live animals on the address side. Expect your queen to arrive within one to three days depending on distance.
Finding a Local Breeder
Buying locally is often the better option. A queen raised in your region is already adapted to local climate, nectar flows, and pest pressures, which gives her colony a head start. Local queens also skip the stress of cross-country shipping, which improves survival rates.
The easiest way to find a nearby breeder is through your state or county beekeeping association. Nearly every state has one, and most maintain directories of members who sell queens and nucleus colonies. Attending a local bee club meeting will connect you with breeders who may not advertise online. Facebook groups for regional beekeeping are another reliable channel. Some regional apiaries, like specialty queen breeders in Northern California or the Southeast, sell directly and offer local pickup.
Choosing a Breed
The breed of queen you buy shapes your colony’s temperament, productivity, and winter hardiness. Here are the most common options:
- Italian: The most popular choice for beginners. Italian bees are gentle, start brood rearing early in spring, and build large colonies that can gather a lot of nectar quickly. They produce bright white comb cappings, making them ideal for comb honey. The tradeoff is they consume more honey stores over winter and have a stronger tendency to rob neighboring hives.
- Carniolan: These bees build up rapidly in spring once pollen becomes available, overwinter well as small clusters, and are economical with their food stores. They forage in cooler, less favorable weather. The main downside is a stronger tendency to swarm, so you’ll need to manage colony space carefully.
- Russian and Russian hybrids: Selectively bred for greater mite resistance and improved hygienic behavior, meaning worker bees actively detect and remove mite-infested brood from cells. These are a good choice if you want to reduce chemical mite treatments.
- Caucasian: Sometimes described as the gentlest of all honey bees. They conserve honey stores better than Italians and forage at lower temperatures. They do use large amounts of propolis (plant resin) to seal up the hive, which makes inspections stickier.
- Buckfast: A hybrid originally developed in England, better suited to cool, damp climates. They show increased resistance to tracheal mites.
Mite-Resistant Genetics
If Varroa mites are a priority concern, look for queens bred with Varroa Sensitive Hygiene (VSH) traits. USDA researchers in Baton Rouge developed this line by selecting colonies where worker bees detect and remove pupae infested with reproducing mites. The bees don’t kill the mites directly. Instead, they uncap brood cells containing mite offspring and remove the affected pupae, which interrupts the mite’s reproductive cycle. VSH genetics are available from specialty breeders, and some mainstream suppliers now offer queens with partial VSH lineage. Expect to pay a premium over standard queens.
What Queens Cost
A standard mated queen from a national supplier generally runs $30 to $55 depending on breed and availability. Marked queens, which have a small paint dot on their thorax to make them easier to spot during inspections, cost a few dollars more. Instrumentally inseminated queens with verified genetics, such as pure VSH or specific breeder lines, can run $75 to $150 or higher. If you’re buying a nucleus colony (a small starter hive that already includes a laying queen, workers, brood, and food stores), expect to pay around $200 to $250.
Live Arrival Guarantees
Reputable suppliers offer a live arrival guarantee, but the terms matter. Most require that you be present for the first delivery attempt or pick up the package from the carrier location yourself. You’ll typically need to report any dead queens within 24 hours of arrival, and many sellers ask for a short video showing the packaging and the dead queen as proof. The guarantee covers the queen herself, not the attendant bees in the cage. Depending on the supplier, you’ll receive either a replacement queen or a refund.
To give your queen the best chance, coordinate your order so she arrives on a weekday when you’ll be home. Avoid ordering during extreme heat waves or cold snaps. If you’re in a remote area with long postal transit times, buying from a closer regional breeder reduces risk significantly.
Introducing Your Queen to the Hive
Your queen will arrive in a small cage, and the introduction process takes about a week from start to finish. Place the cage between frames in the hive with the candy plug exposed. Worker bees will chew through the candy over two to four days, slowly releasing the queen. This gradual process lets the colony get accustomed to her pheromones before she walks freely among them.
Inspect the colony four to six days after placing the cage. By then the queen should be out, moving on the comb, and showing evidence of laying. Check for eggs standing upright in cell bottoms and small larvae curled in a C-shape. Five to seven days after release, you should see new eggs, larvae, and capped brood at various stages. A healthy, accepted queen lays in a consistent, tight pattern with few empty cells scattered through the brood area. If you don’t see eggs after a week, or if bees are biting aggressively at the cage before release, the colony may not be accepting her, and you’ll need to troubleshoot or try a different queen.
Best Time to Order
Queen availability is seasonal. Most breeders in the southern U.S. begin shipping mated queens in March or April, with peak availability running through June. Northern breeders start later, often May or June. If you need a queen for a late-season emergency, such as replacing a failed queen in August, availability is tighter and you may need to check multiple suppliers. Placing your order early in the year, even before you need the queen, is the most reliable way to secure the breed you want.