There are comedic examples of how some bees are purchased in faraway countries and islands. Unfortunately, some importers use these methods, but when the beekeeper starts to work with the Queens is when the issues begin - they are not so nice. We have a shortage of good professional breeders in the UK, therefore, imports are an essential to keep our industry moving forward, but there are ways of doing the job better. It's not just about the profit for us. My team and I are passionate about Queens and Nucs.

We want the queens that our breeders have lovingly reared, based on decades of experience, to arrive in the best condition possible and calm.That’s why we take such care; we collect by road in a car, making a straight drive of 14 hours non-stop, except for one refuel and check on the queens. On arrival back in Kent, they are inspected by the seasonal bee inspector and our consultant beekeeper for health and vitality. There is a whole backend of checks made by the NBU. We give some from each batch to our consultant beekeeper to use in their hives and monitor the quality.

Gentleness is a key factor, as are egg-laying patterns, honey collection, and varroa control, but that’s not all we look for. Swarming is a socially unacceptable behavior of honeybees and should be avoided if possible. The low swarming tendencies of our Queens have been proven year after year. Varroa levels in last year's colonies that Queens from the same breeders heading them up have reportedly been very low, which would indicate that a good cleaning regime is a fundamental characteristic of our Queens.

Following starting Hagen's in June 2024, I was fortunate enough to have acquired a significant amount of historical data and experienced staff - everything from the Mann Lake days back in 2005 upto October last year - when I acquired the intellectual rights of Bee Equipment. When they started posting Queens and Nucs back in 2005, many of the current suppliers of Queens and Nucs didn’t exist, a wealth of experience that is hard to find in the UK in any other company has been inherited.

Fast forward to today, our breeders are among the best in the world, with proven track records dating back generations. They supply some of the best breeders worldwide. Brother Adams in his day was in pursuit of the best Queens for use in the development of the world-famous Buckfast bees - a combination of many different varieties of imported Queens is the Buckfast reality. However, we can only supply the material, Queens and locally reared Nucs, the rest is up to you, the beekeeper. How you treat your bees reflects directly on performance, temperament and health. We hope your beekeeping experience is everything you want, they are truly one of nature's survivors.