Please order all Queens separately from other products, failure to do so may result in delays, incorrect tax being calculated, or incorrect postage being applied (or not at all). If you are ordering Queens for different dates these must be made separately so you are charged the correct postage, otherwise additional postage will be due. This includes mixing an order with different breeds available at different dates! THE DATE YOU SELECT IS THE DAY OF DISPATCH.
Essex Buckfast, exclusive to BS Honey Bees. Tested over the last 7 years from high quality Buckfast mothers, now mating in England, producing some lovely Essex girls!
Available during mid-late May - late July 2025. Marked & mated Essex Buckfast Queens.
We now offer a full 7 day next day Queen service using Royal Mail Special Delivery®! *Excluding bank holidays
You will receive -
- A marked (Blue for 2025), open mated, unclipped, Essex Buckfast Queen (with 4-6 attendant bees) in a slow release candy introduction cage (Nicot, Lyson, JzBz or equivalent).
- Full A4 colour double sided instructions covering various methods of introduction & scenarios. You can view our full introduction guidelines here.
- A fully marked "LIVE BEES" ventilated jiffy bag (or box for larger orders).
- Acceptance is never guaranteed, please bear this in mind as we cannot do anything should your colony reject the Queen (even when following our instructions).
This is a stock controlled system, our availability runs Thursdays - Wednesdays each week. Select your preferred allocation week and the day in which you wish for your Queen(s) to be dispatched (NOT THE DAY OF ARRIVAL).
You will receive a confirmation of your order upon completion containing all details selected when ordering (including your selected dispatch date!), please check your spam folders and ensure your email address is 100% correct, typos are a common issue. On the day of dispatch you will also receive a shipment email, this will contain your Royal Mail tracking number with a direct link to their Track & Trace service.
Please note to beginners - you cannot start a colony with a queen only, you require a 5 /6 frame nuc to start beekeeping.
We are the UK's number 1 for Queen Bees, with over a decade of retailing Queen Bees you can count on our reliability and quality to deliver your stock, on time, as needed. Check our outstanding Trustpilot feedback -
PRODUCED, BRED & MATED IN ENGLAND.
About the Essex Buckfast Breed
The Buckfast bee is a cross of many species of bees into a stable race developed by "Brother Adam", (born Karl Kehrle on 3 August 1898 in Germany), who was in charge of beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey, Devon.
The Essex Buckfasts have been selectively bred from german mothers here in England and open mated with Buckfast drone.
In the early 20th century bee populations were being decimated by Isle of Wight disease. This condition, later called "acarine" disease, after the acarine parasitic mite that invaded the bees' tracheal tubes and shortened their lives, was killing off thousands of colonies in the British Isles in the early part of the 20th century.
In 1916, Brother Adam discovered a feral colony which was a hybrid between A.m. ligurica (North Italian) and A.m. mellifera (English). Brother Adam collected the bees and from this began to develop what would come to be known as the Buckfast bee.
The Buckfast bee is popular among beekeepers and is available from bee breeders in Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, France, and more. Most of the Buckfast bee's qualities are very favourable. They are extremely gentle and highly productive. Brother Adam, in his book, Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey writes that in 1920 they obtained "an average of no less than 192 lbs surplus per colony and individual yields exceeding 3 cwt [approx. 336 lbs]." In the 1986 BBC-affiliated documentary, The Monk and the Honey Bee, more than 400 pounds of honey are reported to have been produced by a single Buckfast colony. According to Brother Adam, "The average annual honey yield over the last thirty years has been 30 kg (66 lb.) per colony. Thus we have a favourable balance compared with the average production in America or in Europe.
*Only shipped next day if instant payment such as bank transfer or PayPal is used. Cheques need to be cleared prior to post.
**Successful introduction is never guaranteed, unfortunately this is nature where nothing is guaranteed!
