# Jennifer Berry's Queens



## mikes

Jennifer makes some great queens!


----------



## DRUR

I have heard she has good queens also, but could not find any contact information on her. Can you give that to me and also anymore information about her queens.

Danny


----------



## BeeAware

She sells her queens through Brushy Mountain Bee Farm. They have a few available for June (as of yesterday). 1 800 233-7929


----------



## bhfury

DRUR -

BeeAware is corrected and that is where I saw them. I went the UGA website to see if there was any history on her queens. Things like what genetic makeup are they gentle, do they winter well, but there wasn't really anything there. The people at Brushy say they have used her queens, but I was looking for someone else who has as well.

Greg


----------



## mikes

Jennifer has been making queens for a long time. she is the lab mgr. at UGA bee lab. I have known her for a long time and have used her queens many of times and have been very happy with them. Jennifer knows bees and i think you will be very happy with the queens you get from her.

mike


----------



## bhfury

Thanks Mike,
But I do have some questions for you. Are they gentle? I have some new young beeks (10 and 13), so I really do want them to bee pounded. Also, how do they winter? It gets to -10 here in the winter. What type of Spring build do they have? 

Thanks,
Greg


----------



## mikes

As for gentle they are itailian so mild. winter, we only have a couple of days at a time down here in the deep south but they do great down here and build up fast in the south but i bring my bees up on canoal so my bee explode early.


----------



## JBJ

Where are they mated at?


----------



## DRUR

*Has anyone heard of these Queens before the Brush Advertisement?*

Has anyone had any of these queens, or heard of them prior to the Brushy Mountain advertisment? Anyone know what qualities these queens are bred for? For instance, hygienic behavior/health, honey production, gentleness, etc. How are these queens, tested or selected, or is just a crap shoot for $25.00+shipping queen. If you have had these queens previously where did you get them; and if so are you associated with Brushy mountain in anyway. I am amazed that anyone could claim to have good queens without any verification, or any insuations concerning there good traits.

Danny


----------



## DRUR

Mike states:

"Jennifer makes some great queens!"

Hardly any information here except an opinion.

"Jennifer has been making queens for a long time. she is the lab mgr. at UGA bee lab. I have known her for a long time and have used her queens many of times and have been very happy with them. Jennifer knows bees and i think you will be very happy with the queens you get from her."

Again all the information you have given us is not relevant to the traits that these queens exhibit. I have been making babies for a long time and I am very happy with them also, but the next person may not be.

"As for gentle they are itailian so mild. winter, we only have a couple of days at a time down here in the deep south but they do great down here and build up fast in the south but i bring my bees up on canoal so my bee explode early."

Some Italians are gentle, some mild (whatever that means, your definition may not be the same as mine), and some are aggressive and sting while others are aggressive and head butt. So do they build up fast because of her selective breeding, obviously not because you bring yours up on canoal so "my bee explode early."

$25.00 for a queen which we know nothing about is a lot of money.

Marla Spivak's MHQ's at least have information out there based upon their selection and are available anywhere from $15.00 ea. to $25.00 ea.

Danny


----------



## sc-bee

Why don't you ask Jennifer. A very pleasant person to talk with. 

[email protected]


----------



## DRUR

*Thank You SC bee*

Finally, someone with some contact information. I have e-mailed Brush twice to find out information about these bees and have received nothing definitive nor any contact information. This will certainly help to be able to email her. Did not mean to denegrate her or her queens, just to often people offer hyped up products. I had never heard of Jennifer before, then all the sudden everyone is talking about what great queens she has, and come to find out they all came from the same source.

Danny


----------



## bhfury

DRUR – Those are my exact sentiments. :applause:


----------



## ga.beeman

Jennifer has been in the beekeeping world for along time. if you keep up with the beekeeping world you should have heard of her before now. Her queens are not a silver bullet as or no one else's bees. She does alot of research and hopefully some of it shows in her bees. She is a very nice person to talk to and she knows bees. try a couple and see what you think. They may or may not do good in your part of the country. Yes I use some MSH and some are good and some or not. that is just part of beekeeping right now. As far as a jacked up product I dont think she is in the queen business just to make a buck she really cares about the future of beekeeping and trying to do what she can to improve the current situation we have with bees......David


----------



## beemandan

*Re: Thank You SC bee*



DRUR said:


> I had never heard of Jennifer before,
> Danny


So, where have you been? Jennifer is past president of the Eastern Apicultural Society. She contributes articles for any number of beekeeper's journals and is a regular in Bee Culture. She speaks at a number of beekeeper association meetings nationally and internationally every year. She is author on a large number of bee research, peer reviewed articles. She manages the UGA beelab and runs the queen breeding program there. 
She is a low volume queen breeder. This isn't a production or assembly line. Her queens remain in their mating hives until she can asses their brood patterns and quality. 
She selects her breeder mothers and drone mothers based on a number of critera....including defensiveness. 
$25....you get what you pay for. 
You'll be hard pressed to find better queens.


----------



## DRUR

*Re: Thank You SC bee*



beemandan said:


> So, where have you been? Jennifer is past president of the Eastern Apicultural Society.


Uh, well let's see. I have been out of beekeeping since the mid to late 80s. Been logging mostly with draft horses. On November 3, I had a tree come back on me striking me in the middle of my forhead, doing brain damage to optical nerve #4 & #6. I am currently still seeing double unless I cover up one eye. After the tree struck me in the forhead snapping my head back, it came down on my back breaking 3 vertebrae between my shoulder blades. My back has mostly healed (by the Grace of God), and my eyes are getting better (by the Grace of God). Not meaning to be disrespectful to Jennifer but I did do a search for her queens and found nothing. E-mailed Brushy twice, received one in reply which said nothing except they had been using them for years, and they didn't reply to the 2nd one (yet). 

I thought I might change professions again and try something a little less hazzardous, like beekeeping, so now you know where I have been, but during the 70s and 80s I think I was fairly successfull in beekeeping as a hobby had between 12-15 colonies. But thanks for asking where I have been. You know someone might just respond and give an answer to our inquiries as you should very well know (beings apparently you are in the Know) that you can pay a lot of money $25.00 for a queen that isn't any better than a $7.00 queen cell.

Thanks for the information though, it really is appreciated, but still there is no information on the genetics or traits she is breeding for.

Danny


----------



## jean-marc

Danny:

Spending $25 per queen is a lot if you are using hundreds. If you are talking 1 or 2 , buck up and take your chances. I mean how much time do you expect them to spend on you answering e-mails and so on, particularly if you are only getting a few.

Jean-Marc


----------



## DRUR

Well let's see Jean-Marc, I am breeding Africanized bees (meant as sarcasm), will these queens fit into your breeding program. Well, wouldn't it be nice for me to let you know this before you put this genetic into your apiary. 

Jean, sorry, I have a plan for my apiary and before I introduce new bloodline I intend to know that those traits are compatible with my plan. I don't treat my colonies, and this is important to me. As far as the $25.00 waste not want not. There are lots of places to buy queens that disclose the traits they are breeding for, not all of those traits will work in my management plan, but you may not have a plan, I DO. This thread was started to inquire concerning information about the traits of Jennifer's queens. Why is this impossible to get and why do all her (socalled) friends take offense yet fail to help the girl out and post her breeding traits.

Danny


----------



## Bizzybee

Jennifer is easy enough to contact Drur.

http://www.ent.uga.edu/Bees/Personnel/Berry.htm

Send her a message and wait for her reply. If she doesn't, move on if you can't get the information you want. There's plenty of bees out there to be had.

But this line of exchange needs to come to a close.


----------



## KQ6AR

Hi Durr,
When you get the info, how about posting it here. I'm sure you're not the only person that would appreciate the answer.


----------



## DRUR

I had already emailed Jennifer from the information contained in Post #12 from scbee (I think). Have not heard back from her yet. 

My criticism is not directed towards Jennifer as some may think. I made inquiry before this thread started because I will be doing splits and requeening late summer early fall (to a limited extent), and have an interest in expanding my genetic pool. Evidently she is a likable person as all have related that seem to be peturbed with my posts. I am sure that she is qualified and has excellent queens, whether they will fit into my program or not remains to be seen. If I don't hear from her in a day or two, I will try bizzybees contact information and try again, but I will work to correct any damage that I may have caused to the reputation of her queens. I do feel somewhat guilty about expressing my views when I haven't heard from her but I had previously run a search and found nothing and contacted Brushy, with still no contact information; but apparently I wasn't the only one trying to make inquiry as I didn't start this thread.

Danny


----------



## ga.beeman

Well you are not going to buy the quality queen for seven dollars. Like someone else said buy one or two and see if they work for you. If you dont want to buy a queen and your stock is what you want then breed out of it and be happy with what you get. This is not the 70's or 80's and queen prices or on the average 20 dollars and up. It's not like she is making a ton of money on these because Brushy Mountain gets their cut and then the cost to produce them so give credit where it is due...David


----------



## DRUR

*To: Mike, ga.beeman, beemandan (all From Georgia)*

Thanks for your support of Jennifer's bees. At the time this started I had no idea that she was from Georgia. What I would like is this, if you have used her queens, share with us those traits which you experienced. Something like this:

I purchased so many queens in the spring of so, and so. They laid solid brood patterns, increased my average honey production, were the healthiest bees in my apiary, showed no signs of foulbrood, chalkbrood, nosema, etc.; and yet were generally overall gentle. When checking the bees, neither the bees nor the queen were inclined to run and hide.

Now this is just an example. You should be willing to share your experiences of her queens, if you have used them, AND IF NOT, give me a chance to contact her and find out from her what I need to know, and then I will post that information here. Almost any site that sells queens, will give you an overview of their selection process so you will know what the queens are bred for; although, we all know that there is no guarantee on what drones bred these queens, and in any batch you can get defective queens.

Thanks for your Support of Jennifer
Danny


----------



## Maine_Beekeeper

DRUR - 

Backsassing Jennifer Berry's internet promotional information is like saying "I e-mailed Barack Obama for legal advice and he hasn't gotten back to me - does anyone know who this guy is?"

Let it go. 
-Erin


----------



## DRUR

Erin: I am just a potential customer responding to a solicitation to purchase Jennifer's queens. See my emails posted below:

Subj: Re: Brushy Mtn Bee Farm - June E-Flier 
Date: 6/3/2009 5:32:11 PM Central Daylight Time
From: Dannyrunger
To: [email protected]


Where can I get a description of the queens and the price? Thank you.

Daniel
Subj: Re: Brushy Mtn Bee Farm - June E-Flier 
Date: 6/5/2009 12:46:56 PM Central Daylight Time
From: Dannyrunger
To: [email protected]


Dear Martha:
I asked where I could get a description of her queens, not the type of queen although this would be appropriate. What I need to know is what traits these queens are bred to exhibit. For instance, I am primarily looking for a queen that can survive without treatments, then next on the list would be honey production, next maybe gentleness. 

To me a queen that can survive a harsh winter is not high on the list because I am from Texas; however, I would want them raised without access to Africanized drones. A queen that can survive harsh winters, survive without treatments, are gentle; but yet won't excel in producing honey compared to other queens, then what good would it do for me. Does she have a site where I could make an inquiry about her queens? $25.00 is at the top end of queen prices, but if you get a superior queen with the traits I am looking for, it will not be to expensive.

I try to do my queen replacement in August and early September, so they are already settled for the next year. Also, generally these queens have greater access to drones during this time of year as opposed to the early spring. Can you help me with this information or send me somewhere where I can get more information about these queens,?

Danny


The first email was in response to an email from Brush (unsolicited by me) sent to me trying to sell me Jennifer's queens. Notice my response to Brushy was prior to the start of this thread. Then late that evening this thread was started, obviously by someone else who had received the solicitation from Brushy.

The second email was a response to the quoted price of $25.00 per queen and occurred two days after the first. The first only provided the price of these queens but none of the other requested information. I responded to this e-mail, trying to find out information about these queens. Then the issue came up on this site, obviously others had problems obtaining information about these queens. I personally don't know what you mean by "backsassing" but I can assure you this has not been my intention.

Thanks for the chance to respond to who I am.
Danny 
I hope this answers your question.


----------



## Countryboy

_Then the issue came up on this site, obviously others had problems obtaining information about these queens. I personally don't know what you mean by "backsassing" but I can assure you this has not been my intention._

Do a google search on 'Jennifer Berry Queen Traits' - the first result is this beesource thread. The second link is the link provided earlier in this thread. http://www.ent.uga.edu/Bees/Personnel/Berry.htm

That link clearly states in the first paragraph:

Her primary areas of research have been a queen breeding program and Integrated Pest Management work for varroa mite control. *The breeding project is a long term program in which resistant stock is continually selected for as well as traits for honey production, brood production and gentleness.*


----------



## DRUR

Thanks for the site and information. My search should have been more diligent than it was.

Danny


----------



## beemandan

I’m not going to tell you Jennifer’s selection critera. She’s starting a new business and some of her practices may be proprietary.
I will tell you a couple of things she does, that alone, make her queens worth a premium. She’s seen and been involved in a number of studies where the impact of chemicals in the brood rearing comb have been shown to take a toll on queens and drones. In her hives, she uses no chemicals. She does not use any commercially waxed foundation. Any wax contaminants come from outside of her hives. 
The queens she sells are removed from their mating nucs only after their brood has been capped. Most commercial queen suppliers remove them immediately after they begin laying. The cost in production volume for waiting is substantial. Yet the likelihood of delivering drone layers or similar laying problems is dramatically reduced.

Jennifer’s queen breeding business is at that difficult point where it isn’t big enough for her to hire full time help but is often big enough that she sometimes needs an extra set of experienced hands. On occasion I’ve spent a day working her bees with her. She’s often paid me in queens. I get her rejects. During the process of choosing her breeder moms, ninety plus percent of her queens are culled. I try to get the top ten percent of those rejects. In my experience her rejects are great brood producers, produce gentle progeny, and produce honey.

I hope this helps.


----------



## DRUR

beemandan said:


> I?m not going to tell you Jennifer?s selection critera. She?s starting a new business and some of her practices may be proprietary.


Dan
Thanks for your followup. It gives me the opportunity to clear the air. My main contention has never been against Jennifer's queens, but more directed [which wasn't made clear in my earlier posts] towards Brushy who is selling her queens. I came up during the era when the customer was always right. Having done business with Walter T. Kelley and MannLake, my experience with these two suppliers confirmed my reliance on these standards, as whenever I had questions I could call or email and received prompt, timely, and adequate reply to my questions. I also have received this type of service regarding queen dealers to many to name. I did not get this service from Brushy. 

Does Jennifer sell direct, If so how can I support her; if not then I will be forced to support her through Brushy, which I am hesitant to do. There are too many out there who deliver good service to reward them for their poor responses. At any rate I do intend to try her queens, and support her research in this area.

Thanks Danny


----------



## Barry

beemandan said:


> In her hives, she uses no chemicals. She does not use any commercially waxed foundation.


Dan -

Since you've worked her hives, what does she use for foundation/comb? Does she mill her own? Foundationless/natural comb? Any particular cell size? Large, small, mix of both?

When you say "no chemicals", does this include medications also?


----------



## beemandan

DRUR said:


> Does Jennifer sell direct


Danny, Jennifer is presently selling exclusively through Brushy Mtn. I think…and this is only my opinion…that Jennifer recognized her lack of resources to manage all of the communication necessary to sell direct. She has a fulltime + job with UGA and her personal queen breeding and producing also consumes enough to qualify as fulltime. I think she realized that she didn’t have another forty hours a week to devote to marketing.





Barry said:


> Since you've worked her hives, what does she use for foundation/comb? When you say "no chemicals", does this include medications also?


Any time I’ve talked with Jennifer about her methods, I’ve assumed that she was speaking confidentially. While she’s never sworn me to secrecy, and I expect she wouldn’t object to the release of these kinds of details, I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking that liberty. I’m sure you understand. The specific things I’ve mentioned in my earlier post, I’ve heard Jennifer talk about publicly, so I didn’t feel those same constraints.


----------



## bhfury

Does anyone have an idea on how her queens overwinter? It gets down to -15 here so wintering might me be an issue. Also, how do they build up in the Spring - slow or like gang busters. Do the queens stop laying in the fall? Will they interrupt brood rearing during times of drought? 

Thanks,
Greg


----------



## sqkcrk

ga.beeman said:


> As far as a jacked up product I dont think she is in the queen business just to make a buck she really cares about the future of beekeeping and trying to do what she can to improve the current situation we have with bees......David


So, why do they cost so much? What makes them so special?

I have a hard time spending $17.00 for queens. Though I do it. If I ordered 100, could I get them for less? How much less?


----------



## beemandan

sqkcrk said:


> So, why do they cost so much? What makes them so special?


At the risk of repeating myself.


beemandan said:


> I will tell you a couple of things she does, that alone, make her queens worth a premium. She’s seen and been involved in a number of studies where the impact of chemicals in the brood rearing comb have been shown to take a toll on queens and drones. In her hives, she uses no chemicals. She does not use any commercially waxed foundation. Any wax contaminants come from outside of her hives.
> The queens she sells are removed from their mating nucs only after their brood has been capped. Most commercial queen suppliers remove them immediately after they begin laying. The cost in production volume for waiting is substantial. Yet the likelihood of delivering drone layers or similar laying problems is dramatically reduced.


Look at it this way. If she waits until the eggs are capped she reduces her production but has a greater assurance that those queens are mated well. Reduced wax contamination and its effects on queens and drones. So, what is that worth? When I’ve bought queens from reputable queen producers I’ve had as much as a 50% loss within the first 60 days. Drone layers, supercedures and the like. Will her techniques reduce these types of losses? Probably. Does that make those queens worth a premium over the conventional production methods? It seems so, in my opinion.

Do you disagree?


----------



## ga.beeman

i agree with you 100 percent. you get what you pay for most of the time. I have had so much trouble with queens the last few years that I started buying from people that dont raise as many but are breeding for better bees and some that dont use any chemicals at all (yes you are going to pay more). but the bottom line is that most of these are better mated queens and they will out preform the commerical queens hands down 95% of the time. I dont like paying alot of money for queens but I have learned the hard way you can buy a cheaper queen and she gets replaced right away and then you order another one well you just paid for a better mated queen and if you are lucky maybe the workers will not be laying before you get the second queen in the hive. I am raising a few of my own out of the queens and my bees are better then they have ever been. This is just what has worked the best for me.


----------



## DRUR

I started out this year with 2 colonies (two deeps) bought about March 17. I got home without a queen in 1, and the other colony was so aggressive I am sure they were AHB. 

I split the AHB but couln't find the queen the first go round. I purchased 3 Minnesota Hygienic Queens $12.00 ea. I lost one in the colony with the AHB queen. I raised a queen from my MHQ and split the first colony that the queen was killed during transport. All of these MHQ have been excellent queens. Second go round on the AHB, I found the queen and requeened with a Bweaver queen that was delivered for $27.00 clipped and marked (she has over taken all others and is definitely my best queen at this point), she is also an excellent queen.

The MHQ that I raised is the only one not regressed to small cells at this point and she only has 8 of 10 frames of solid brood. 

$25.00+about $15.00 shipping or more seems like a lot of money to me for a queen, that you don't have a lot of information about. I will probably buy one because I feel as if I have, to some degree hurt the reputation of Jennifer's queens with this thread, but not intentionally. I have no idea why every one else is having 50% queen losses, that has not been my experience.

Danny


----------



## bhfury

DRUR said:


> I will probably buy one because I feel as if I have, to some degree hurt the reputation of Jennifer's queens with this thread, but not intentionally.
> Danny


If you aren't completely satisfied with the answers you received to your questions, I wouldn't buy one based upon feeling you have potentially hurt her reputation. If fact, I doubt you did. Anyone in the research field has handled harsher criticism. 

What I see has happened is there's a product being offered for sale by Brushy, which they don’t appear to know much about based upon the lack of answers to our question. Asking Ms. Berry is a great idea and I have, but I want to hear from others as well. 

You don't go out and buy a car based upon what the salesperson or manufacture says – Do ya? No!!! You research, ask others who own it and chase it on the internet. This is no different!!!

The reason I started this post was to get some feedback on Ms. Berry's queens - which I have. In addition, I've emailed her and haven't received a reply back. I'm sure she is super busy as we all are and I’m looking forward to her answers. But like I said... I'm also interested in feedback from beeks who have used her queens. Her queens sound awesome, but in it's time so did the Yugo - the car not the bee :doh: 

I posted


bhfury said:


> Does anyone have an idea on how her queens overwinter? It gets down to -15 here so wintering might me be an issue. Also, how do they build up in the spring - slow or like gang busters? Do the queens stop laying in the fall? Will they interrupt brood rearing during times of drought?


 I emailed Brushy Mnt. and Ms. Berry these same questions and still no response. Obviously, these are generalized questions, but is there anyone on this thread who can answer them? If you want to do it privately, you can email me at [email protected] However, what I learn I will re-post on this thread; unless for some reason you say it's confidental, in which case I won't.:no: I was a cop too long to break someones trust and that included this webpage.

Thanks,
Greg


----------



## beemandan

DRUR said:


> I will probably buy one because I feel as if I have, to some degree hurt the reputation of Jennifer's queens with this thread, but not intentionally.


Danny, don't buy one based on some sort of guilt. You haven't hurt Jennifer's reputation. And, to be honest, this thread has probably given her some free advertising. Any number of readers may not have even known that Jennifer was selling queens via Brushy Mtn.

As to 50% losses with commercial queens. I think if you buy a quantity over a long period, you'll agree that the losses are way too high. Will it be 50%? Maybe, maybe not. But I bet you'll agree that over the long haul, its excessive.


----------



## DRUR

My lack of ability to express myself in the English language is troubling to me.

Do I feel remorseful about its (English language) use in prior posts. Yes

Is this the primary reason I feel the need to purchase one of Jennifer's Queens? NO.

I have always felt inclined to help the little guy get started, in order to help the newcomer to strut their stuff. That does not prevent me from making inquiry prior to using my limited financial resources to help out the newcomer. There has to be a sense of justice to our actions. IMO we should not be reactors, but rather make our decision after logical conclusions supported by the best available facts. I have a tendency to get p'o'd at Brushy's failure to adequately respond to the traits of these bees. If they are the marketing agent, they should have gathered the necessary informtion, anticipated what would have been needed, and provided it to the potential customers.

Is this Jennifer's fault and should she be punished for it? I THINK NOT.

Do I think there is a health problem of many of the queens produced today, thereby affecting their "fecundity" (sic maybe?)? YES

Should we support a new breeder based upon the limited information provided by her associates? For me that answer is YES.

Should Jennifer be required to respond to our emails, prior to our support of her efforts (when her reasons for going through an agent is because of time limitations)? IMO NO. 

Why? Because I think that these people will not out and out lie and I doubt that with such strong support from her friends (unless there is a conspiracy here, which I don't believe) she is also worthy of our support. She has the credentials, and to the extent that I am able, I will support her efforts, not as a reaction, I hope, but as a logical conclusion to my effort to gather information.

Thanks Danny


----------



## sqkcrk

beemandan said:


> Do you disagree?


Thanks for repeating your post. I've told you before that I'm dense. 

I guess I perhaps should be worried about all of the points that you point out. I'm not that aware that those points are a problem.

I guess they are probably worth the price. Especially since Brushy Mnt has to make something on them too, I imagine.


----------



## DRUR

sqkcrk said:


> Thanks for repeating your post. I've told you before that I'm dense.


sqkcrk: Touche' and you owe me one, sometimes my fingers type before the brain adequately assimilates. I ask your forgiveness for my moment of aggressiveness.

Thanks Danny


----------



## sqkcrk

"Off Topic"

No, no, no. You were great and right on. Thanks for your patience?

Oops, got you mixed up w/ beemandan. What were you refering to?

Sorry Moderator. I don't know how to use the icons, such as "Off Topic".


----------



## DRUR

sqkcrk said:


> Oops, got you mixed up w/ beemandan. What were you refering to?


My reference was regarding to the "dense" remark (which was rightfully deleted) that I made to your post #42 in the white supremist thread. I thought your reference that you had been called dense was to this. Any rate my request for foregiveness is still applicable.

Danny


----------



## DRUR

I have just come upon some new information concerning Jennifer's queens. At this point I would like to add that I will unequivocally support her efforts by buying her queens, and intend to implement their genetics into my management practices, not only to support Jennifer; but because I believe her queens will be a great asset addition to my genetics. I have requested the ability to share this information, and will, if given; as I think it will be important to others in deciding to purchase her queens and in supporting Jennifer's efforts. 

THANKS JENNIFER FOR YOUR HARD WORK AND DEDICATION. 

Danny:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## DRUR

*Jennifer's Reply*

As previously noted in my prior post, I sent an email to Jennifer. I did receive an answer from her but was hesitant to share any information without permission. The first message is her permission to post her response.
The Second message is her original response [edited].
FIRST MESSAGE:

You may post any part you like. 

I forgot to mention that I will have a website up and running hopefully in a month or two. (www.thequeenery.com) 
There I'll have lots of information about my queens, pictures, and feedback from customers. This will take Brushy mtn out of the loop. They are just too busy to worry about my queens right now.

Take care
jen

SECOND MESSAGE:

Hello Danny,
........[edited]
Anyway with that said, here is the information about my queens. 

I selected breeder queens and drone mothers (separate line)late last year with the following traits.

Low varroa counts on sticky screens and # of mites per cell
High brood production
Gentle disposition

Their mothers were also tested for hygienic behavior which I will resume again this fall for next years breeder/drone mothers. 

Colonies (bees, and wooden ware) have never been exposed to any kind of miticides. I do not use any wax foundation only un-waxed plastic foundation or plastic strips. I plan to coat the plastic foundation this year with wax I've been collecting. Research has shown that queens and drones reared in chemically laced colonies do not survive as long and are less reproductive. Plus queen supercedure has been on the rise over the years which is believed to be linked to the chemicals used in queen rearing operations 

I treat colonies that I use to start up my mating nucs with powder sugar in the late winter, early spring, other than that they receive no further treatments nor do the breeder or drone colonies. However I do not claim that my queens are 100% varroa resistant. Varroa tolerant may be a better term. I still find mites but I am not loosing colonies to mites. But again (disclaimer #2) I run my colonies differently than most beekeepers. 

Mated queens to be sold are never caged before they have been in a colony laying a solid pattern for at least 21 days. I want to see bees emerging from a solid brood pattern before I cage any queens. Queens allowed to lay eggs longer have increased QMP production which helps in acceptance and hence reduces queen supercedure.

You asked about honey production. For years I included it into my selection process but have since stopped. My feelings are....if you have healthy, strong colonies then you will make honey. [edited]

So when asked why I charge $25 per queen, my response is as follows: Well actually because of how I raise queens, quality verses quantity, I am actually loosing money at $25/queen hence I plan to charge more per queen next year. 

I stand behind my queens. They are a superb product but will they solve the worlds problems, hand you the winning lottery numbers, cure cancer? Probably not, but I believe they are better than most queens being sold out there. [edited] but extremely busy until November. I hoped I answered your questions.

Take care
jennifer


*************************************
Jennifer Berry
Research Professional III
UGA Honey Bee Lab
1221 Hog Mountain Rd.
Watkinsville, Ga 30677
706-769-1736
www.ent.uga.edu/bees


----------



## bhfury

DRUR said:


> I have just come upon some new information concerning Jennifer's queens. :


Thanks DRUR that is very useful information. 

Greg


----------



## DRUR

bhfury said:


> Can you share your info on what you have learned?
> 
> Thanks,
> Greg


 I just did, but we passed in cyber space. Sometimes you can pay big money, and not get what you paid for, in this instance, these queens at $25.00 each, are a steal when one considers the amount of work and research and effort that has gone into the production of these queens. Please consider her time and costs and see if you don't agree. I will be happy NOW, to pay the $25.00 + shipping to add some of these to my genetics, and I just hope they are not sold out before I can use them. Please support her for her hard work by adding a few of these to your apiary.

Thanks Danny


----------



## DRUR

bhfury said:


> Thanks DRUR that is very useful information.
> 
> Greg


Don't thank me, Thank Jennifer for her hard work and dedication in trying to save today's beekeepers.

Danny


----------



## ga.beeman

Hope you can get a few from her and that they do what you want them to do. I think you will be very happy with them overall and keep us posted on what you think of them. Good Luck ....David


----------



## sqkcrk

DRUR said:


> My reference was regarding to the "dense" remark (which was rightfully deleted) that I made to your post #42 in the white supremist thread. I thought your reference that you had been called dense was to this. Any rate my request for foregiveness is still applicable.
> 
> Danny


 Nope, I'm gonna hold that one over your head until you agree w/ me on everything. 

No, really, no need for an apology. But if you insist. Apology accepted.


----------



## DRUR

Well, what else could I expect, exactly what I had to do to get these Georgia beekeepers off my back.



Danny


----------



## sc-bee

Glad Jennifer finally found the time to e-mail you back. As I said pleasant to speak with and a hoot to her speak at times. By the way that is a southern compliment (hoot).

That's all about personality but glad you got the queen breeding answers you were seeking.

And by the way if from Tx. I too may or may not have known who Jennifer was. She also spends alot of time with local bee clubs and making State meetings in GA, SC, and NC to name a few.

Go JEN:applause:!!!

And good luck with your new queen(s) DRUR:thumbsup:


----------



## DRUR

sc-bee said:


> And by the way if from Tx. I too may or may not have known who Jennifer was. She also spends alot of time with local bee clubs and making State meetings in GA, SC, and NC to name a few.
> 
> And good luck with your new queen(s) DRUR:thumbsup:


I was glad to have corresponded with her by e-mail. Also, regarding the price of the queens, I now consider these more like breeder queens; and therefore worth more than just one you intend to use for production. At the price she is offering IMO, they are cheap. Other places get $100-300 for these queens that you intend to use for genetics in your colonies. Also, I say again when your friends and acquaintances stand behind you like Jennifer's did, this is a very good indication of her dedication and character. You boys from Georgia, and elsewhere thanks for giving her the support she deserved.

Danny

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## KQ6AR

Hi Danny,
Thanks for sharing.


----------

