2026 Queens
A high-quality queen is the heart of a productive apiary. Whether you are splitting hives to expand your yard, replacing an aging or failing queen, or breaking a brood cycle to manage varroa mites, our locally adapted queens are raised to thrive in our challenging Minnesota climate. If you are unsure whether your hive needs a new queen, start with our Queen less: next steps guide before ordering.
We focus on northern-hardy genetics that balance strong spring buildup, exceptional overwintering ability, and gentle temperament.
Pricing & Availability
- Price: $40 per queen (open mated)
- Availability: Now through end of the 2026 season
- Pickup: Local pickup in Wright County, MN.
How to Place an Order
To maintain the highest quality we pull queens per order.
Contact Us to Reserve Your Queens
- Call or Text: 612-619-1867
- Email: info@hopeandharvestmn.com
Note: Please include your name, the number of queens you need, and your preferred pickup timeframe.
Our Breeding Focus
Our queen-rearing process uses precise timing and strict selection criteria to ensure you receive a robust queen for your colony:
Northern Hardiness
We graft exclusively from our top-performing, overwintered colonies right here in Minnesota. These colonies have proven their ability to survive long winters, manage tight winter clusters, and conserve stores efficiently.
Vigorous Brood Patterns
Our queens are allowed to open lay in mating nucs to verify their laying capacity before they are packaged for pickup. We look for a tight, high-density brood pattern, ensuring you get a prolific layer ready to boost your hive’s population.
Gentle Temperament
Beekeeping should be an enjoyable experience. We strictly weed out defensive traits from our breeding stock, selecting for calm bees that stay steady on the comb during your inspections.
Pick up & Installation Best Practices
- Keep them Cool and Dark: When picking up your queens, keep them out of direct sunlight and away from drafts or air conditioning vents. An air-conditioned vehicle cabin is perfect, but don’t let the air blow directly on the cage.
- Hydration is Key: If you aren’t installing her immediately, place a tiny drop of water on the screen of the cage (avoiding the candy end) so the attendants can drink.
- Confirming Queenlessness: For the highest acceptance rates, ensure the target hive is completely and hopelessly queenless. Before introducing a new queen, read our guide on Reading the Frame to ensure you don’t have hidden emergency cells, unhatched virgins, or signs of a laying worker. If you aren’t sure whether your hive is actually queenless, walk through our step-by-step Queenless Decision Tree Flowchart to verify your hive’s true status before releasing a new queen.
- Destroy Emergency Cells: Check every single frame thoroughly and destroy all emergency queen cells at least 24 hours prior to introduction. If the bees have a chance to raise their own, they will often reject a caged queen.