General
Here at Singing Cedars Apiaries, the
focus of our breeding program is to breed traits from
top breeders from the heartiest strains we can find into
our northern stock. We are not trying to maintain strain
continuity, but to develop a superior strain of our own.
We have been keeping and breeding bees for 40 years in
Vermont.
Drones from survivor colonies that
have over wintered in Vermont are mated with larva from
breeder queens from the following strains of Russian,
Carniolian, and Purvis Golden bees to develop traits we
feel give us a gentle, hearty, highly productive strain
of bees very suitable for northern climates.
We only over winter our best
producers, and requeen any hives not displaying the
traits we are breeding for, and therefore, feel our
survivors are the best queens for your needs.
Russian
We have been using RUSSIAN
QUEENS from the coastal Primorski region of Russia.
These bees have been exposed to Varroa mites for
approximately 150 years and have developed a resistance
to and the ability to cope with varroa and tracheal
mites. They are very winter hearty and field mating them
with our survivor stock of hearty producers gives us
traits ideal for today’s northern conditions.
Carniolian 
The traits we add to our stock from
Carniolian breeders is their ability to winter well in
severe climates yet build up well in the spring.
Carniolian queens keep a very tight brood nest with
heavy stores of honey.
All our queens are field-mated with
drones from over-wintered survivor stock, and we only
over winter our most productive hives.
Purvis Golden
Purvis Golden queens have been
developed for their gentleness, and ability to survive
multiple pest and environmental pressures without the
aid of chemicals while producing superior honey crops.
Breeding these traits into our stock of over wintered
survivors has given us a line of bees that build up
quickly in the spring, which is a highly desired
function here in the northeast.
Canadian Buckfast
The latest strain we have started
to incorporate into our breeding program are the
Canadian Buckfast bees developed originally by Brother
Adam in England. Besides their tendency not to
swarm and high honey production, since the bees are now
bred in Canada, they winter very well. They are
also some of our gentlest bees, and they have a
reputation for longevity. In one study in Canada, 89% of
Buckfast queens were still strong 16 months into their
lifespan.
