Who We Are – Our History

OUR GOAL: TO PRODUCE A SELF SUSTAINING HONEYBEE STOCK THAT IS DISEASE AND MITE RESISTANT WITHOUT THE USE OF SYNTHETICS.

OUR HISTORY: We are Queen Breeders located in the uniquely isolated micro-climate of the North Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. In 1997, Frustrated with the universal practice of spending large amounts of money on chemicals that poorly controlled the pests and pathogens in honeybees colonies, and increasingly concerned about the potential residue of those chemicals in our honey and hive products we began “searching for a better way….”

At that time, research literature indicated there were few if any surviving feral honeybees left in the United States due to the devastating effect of varroa mites on their population. Determined to find out if that was true, we set bait hives in very remote locations, successfully capturing several wild swarms. Reliable oral history from resident pioneer families confirmed that these isolated bees had survived  in    in these harsh conditions  for over 40 years without human intervention, we surmised they may have developed some natural resistance.

Our strategy included purposeful exposure to varroa mites, followed by retesting.
When these feral colonies proved to be very promising, we implemented years of systematic breeding that included:
  • continued swarm capture;
  • the inclusion of USDA Primorsky Russian and SMR/VSH & Caucasian breeder queens;
  • the establishment of isolated mating yards
  • regular independent laboratory testing
  • continued development of integrated pest management techniques
  • a firm commitment to a synthetic-free selection process
  • and: Establishment of a strict Breeder-queen Selection Criteria:
                  Varroa Resistance :
                  Hygienic Behavior – Minimum of 95% removal of killed brood in 24 hours
                  Grooming Behavior – A highly advanced hygienic trait
                  Nosema Tolerance:  Demonstrate vigor with high exposure – untreated
                  Gentleness:   Quiet on the comb – able to work without gloves.
                  Swarming Behavior:  Low – require adequate space during rapid spring build-up
                  Excellent Honey Producers:  Forage at cooler temperatures
                  Hoarding Behavior:  Heavy pollen collectors
                  Overwintering:  Conservative cluster size / Exceptional survivability
                  Longevity
                  Solid Brood Patterns

The Harveys