*Pre-Orders for 2025 Season Now Live*
Early ordering is recommended for the early delivery weeks.
See full description for full information on lines, origin and traits.
We pride ourselves on our black bees being more resistance to disease than black bees of old, and producing as much of a honey crop as other more prolific bees.
Our fundamental aim with our dark bees is striving to produce a dark / black bee that is commercially viable selecting from the best of our stocks and local genetic material with a preference towards AMM stock.
Order Process
Select a delivery week and delivery day.
Queens are always sent Royal Mail Special Delivery, or can be collected by appointment.
Delivery Days (Thursday to Saturday)
If dark queens are out of stock, we also have Buckfast queens.
Discounts on available on quantity for bee farmers (see quantity discount table)
For Terms and Conditions for Bee Orders and Cancellations please see the dedicated Ts and Cs page
Availability is live.
£49.00
Bred on the Northumberland / Cumbrian border by Northumberland Honey Co. These bees are known as our Northumberland Dark queen bees, after years of trying to select for a good British Black Queen we have bred a Northumberland Dark Queen which we feel performs well. We are fortunate to be working in a remote area with few other beekeepers and a known population of dark bees – Apis mellifera mellifera.
We also utilise instrumental insemination and work with other breeders of AMM queens to produce our dark queens.
Queen Mother and Drone Mother 2024 Line Information
Over the years we have been selecting from the best of these bees, to produce a dark bee that works well in the UK climate, selecting bees based on not only their colouration (which may be varied due to open mating) but also selecting amongst these bees for good temperament, low swarming tendancy, good honey production and disease resistance. We now have dark bees which are as disease resistant, and produce a significant honey crop with dark queen mothers having produced over 50Kg of honey in the previous season. But please note purchasing queens especially open mated there is never a guarantee of any particular trait when dealing with nature and potential variabilities of matings.
For the 2025 season we are grafting from dark queen mothers who have shown VSH (varroa sensitive and hygienic traits, culled brood removal at 90% within 24 hours and 100% within 48 hours) from 2022 when we started this specific testing a high proportion of the daughters have maintained these traits and we hope this will continue into the traits of the 2025 queens.
Please note, there may be some slight colour variation amongst the queens, although we do select for darker phenotypes. Our stock is raised from our local dark bee population amongst other genetics we have brought in over the years from other dark bee breeders with first and foremost good disease resistance, honey production and temperament.
We do have dark bees which have been genetically tested as over 90% Apis Mellifera Mellifera but purity is something we and any other breeder in an open mated setting cannot guarantee.
We graft in Queen right cell starters and finishers, which stimulates the supercedure impulse for raising cells, which is known to produce a better well fed queen larvae than in a rushed stimulated queenless starter set up. Once the cells are sealed we transfer to an incubtor for the cells to hatch. This ensures that the temperature and humidty during development is exceptionally well controlled and the development of the queen is as near to perfect conditions as can be.
On the day of hatching, the virgin queen is introduced to a mating nuc (we use Apideas in preference). These apideas are situated in one of two queen rearing valleys we have depending on the breeding of the queen we are looking for. These valleys are populated with at least 20 drone rearing colonies to ensure the areas are flooded with our drones.
After 2-4 weeks the apideas are checked for successful mating. Once there is sealed brood the queens are then marked for being available to ship or used in our own colonies.
These queens will be available from end of May through to September. Earlier weeks become booked very quickly so we advise if interested in these queens that you plan ahead and pre-order in good time.
Generally queens are caged on the same day as posting. A lot of producers will bank queens (ie cage for long periods of time in order to manage stock) we prefer to let queens lay fully up to the point of postage in this way you get a queen which is ready to get laying straight away.
For Queen Introduction Guidelines see our Queen Introduction Guidelines Page
For full terms and conditions for bee purchases please see here
| Weight | 0.01 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 10 × 10 × 10 cm |
| Delivery or Collection Week | W/C 26th May 2025, W/C 2nd June 2025, W/C 9th June 2025, W/C 16th June 2025, W/C 23rd June 2025, W/C 7th July 2025, W/C 14th July 2025, W/C 21st July 2025, W/C 28th July 2025, W/C 4th August 2025, W/C 11th August 2025, W/C 18th August 2025, W/C 25th August 2025, W/C 30th September 2024 |
| Delivery Day | Thursday, Friday, Saturday |
| Queen Mother | H1 |
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Company Number: 09432006
VAT Number: 233561914
AWRS URN: – Ask if needed
Office Number: 01434 322981
Address: Unit 6C, Haltwhistle Industrial Estate, Northumberland, NE49 9HA
E-mail: lukeandsuzie@northumberlandhoney.co.uk
Jan Blanthorn-Hazell (verified owner) –
So pleased! My Native Black Bee Queen has settled in beautifully. She arrived safely with her attendants and after a short time in the cage I removed the seal and she is now released and laying well. I needed new genetics as my original Queen and her daughters are very aggressive and constantly swarming
so was my only option for calmer bees. The bees are already covering the 2nd super so the 3rd has gone on. Thank you Luke and Co. for the super service – great support and delivery. First time I’ve bought a Queen Bee will definitely order from Northumberland Honey Co. again.
Guy French (verified owner) –
Great queen.Very calm and placid.Arrived a few months ago.Wanted to introduce more native strain to bees.
Nick Marsh (verified owner) –
Queen and attendants arrived in tip top condition. After a drink and a rest, the queen cage was introduced to the Queenless hive. Thank you Suzie, Luke and Co at Northumberland honey for providing such an excellent service. I will not hesitate to order from you again when the need arises.
Stephen Martin (verified owner) –
As a fairly newbie to bee keeping I collected a cast from last year, Totally useless and lost the Queen in May! As the bees were dark as the description in the picture above I decided to have a dark Queen to replace her. Best decision! the Queen supplied is very productive her offspring a bit feisty compared to my Buckfast but the honey flow soon caught up with my other bees. Will definitely Recommend the Northumberland Honey Company and purchase from them in the future. Many thanks!
Lynne (verified owner) –
I purchased a dark Queen in May very pleased arrived well packaged and all occupants in great condition, introduced and accepted into a nucleus, and ordered a second in July. Very pleased both have expanded well and are very busy. Inquisitive when hive opened but nice to handle.
Ivan Wilson (verified owner) –
Very happy with the two British dark queens. And I’ve just ordered another one.
Warren Higgins (verified owner) –
This is my first year of bee keeping and was Really happy with the level of advice and service I was given. I was desperate for a Queen and the lady I spoke to was really nice and helpful. They sent out a British black Queen next day for me. She arrived the next morning and the hive is now super calm and she is working away nicely even though she didn’t get the best start from me. Highly recommend this company 👍👍🐝
Robert Talliss (verified owner) –
Ordered a good number of these queens and they have been fantastic. Laying straight off the blocks once released, great brood pattern and great temperament.
Robert Talliss (verified owner) –
Great queens, all of the black queens we had last year have been quiet, productive and very thrifty through the winter. They are producing good strong colonies this year.
Peter Young (verified owner) –
Bought two queens last year, arrived beautifully packaged and began laying prolifically within 24 hours to the point they were very quickly moved out of nuc. Appear to have over wintered well. Buying two more this year to replace a nippy queen and split a strong hive. Highly recommended.
georgina.pentecost –
I purchased Northumberland dark queen from you in August last year. She arrived with her attendants in good health. She was introduced in to a fairy aggressive hive which quickly became calm and placid. Lovely to work with. She was easily accepted into the hive, which has done exceptionally well over the winter with very few bee loses on the hive floor throughout the winter. she has produced a beautiful strong colony. Looking forward to the season ahead. Will be purchasing some more of these queens this season. Great service, definitely recommend.
Nick Marsh (verified owner) –
I purchased a dark queen in mid September to save a swarm collected in June, that had failed to supersede. As per my last two queens from Luke & Suzie. she arrived well packaged, active and healthy, as were her attendants. I used the Knight /Tabor/Dews method of queen introduction ( see Dave Cushman Website ) I chose to keep the Queen and attendants together due to my failing eyesight. I had fed the hive 1:1 sugar syrup for a week prior to the introduction. Within minutes of the introduction, the bees were feeding the queen, and after two days all the queen candy had been consumed even though the cage door had been kept closed. I opened the door on day four. By day seven the pollen increase into the hive had increased. It is now February and the bees are collecting pollen from hazel and willow in all weather. Tough bees! I am extremely pleased with my queens from Northumberland Honey and found the company extremely helpfull.
Bruce Pearse (verified owner) –
Bought 2 of the NH99 queens last year (2023), over wintered very well and have since built up into strong colonies, easy to work with, very impressed. Not as dark as AMM but flying in cooler wetter weather when other bees are huddled inside. Getting more queens this year, fully recommend. Ordering process was straightforward, packaging and arrival of the queens were spot on!
Deian Morgans (verified owner) –
Arrived on time, colony has accepted, very quiet
Will not hesitate to order again
Paul Long (verified owner) –
I am down in East Sussex. I have progressively moved to “Blacks”. I find them frugal over winter and start going very early in the Spring. They are frequently calm, relaxed. I am now adding a bought queen a year to maintain overall genetics. These Blacks arent as mental with huge colonies as a Buckfast. I have a Black now in her 3rd year with me and she has laid the entire top brood box solidly since April. Had 4 supers of honey so far with 3 more to come.
sarahtiggymanning (verified owner) –
Arrived 3 weeks ago, on time and well packed. Very pleased so far.
Richard Croucher (verified owner) –
I have now brought Northumberland Dark Queens 3 times from Luke and Suzie and I am very pleased with them. In the past I had always stuck with Buckfast type Queens, in the belief that they are non aggressive , which is true until they either rep[lace the existing Queen themselves or the Queen is an emergency Queen. It is then that you can experience F2 Aggression , and I mean Aggression. The Northumberland Dark Queens offspring are spirited but not aggressive. I also noted that the buildup in the spring was slower than I was used too, but once they got going there was no stopping them and they built into very strong and healthy colonies, occupying 1.5 Langstroth Brood Chambers. 2 of my colonies containing Northumberland Dark Queens are very close to Heather in the New Forest and they have both supplied me with 1 Langstroth Brood Chamber ( Used as a Deep Super) I medium Langstroth super and a Section Rack, all filled to the brim. 150-160 lbs of Honey.
I have just recently brought another Northumberland Dark Queen, to requeen a Hive and take it through the winter.
So after all that said, I am very happy with the Bees that Luke and Suzie supply
Linda Graham (verified owner) –
I am very pleased with my Northumberland dark queen! She arrived very safe and well with her attendants, and I introduced them to a 5 frame nuc I had made up just before they arrived. I waited 4 days before looking, and to my delight, she was walking about on frame where she had already laid hundreds of eggs, on both sides! About a week later, I checked and found lots more eggs, but no queen! I scoured the entire box, but found nothing. I was so upset! I went away on holiday, leaving plenty of food, and was expecting to have to shake them out on my return. As soon as it was warm enough, I looked inside, only to see her sitting there surrounded by brood. It made my day!
Harry Thomas (verified owner) –
Beautiful dark queen. Arrived far and healthy in great packaging. Started laying up full frames in no time.
Ian Turley (verified owner) –
I think I must have been very unlucky and due to bad weather. I ordered three queens last year in June and due to the appalling weather there was delays but was really helpfully rushed through when available – wish I had not now. All three queens were introduced successfully but within two weeks 2/3 had gone missing after laying a few eggs, To then be told had had introduced wrongly and inspected too soon is a bit frustrating and slightly insulting.
This year the temperament is terrible – they are very pingy and up flying at each inspection. They are building well which is a bonus but also have quite a lot of chalkbrood. Unfortunately I will be requeening this year as they are just not what I was expecting or wanted.
I feel that I was a victim of circumstances but think think more could have been done and at least one replacement queen could have been offered. I think that they were just not mated well and I would caution all to be careful when purchasing on the weather conditions ( I know last summer was awful).
Northumberland Honey –
Dear Ian,
Sorry to read your review. This is the first we’ve heard from you since June last year when you received the queens and on checking the records this was the only order you have made with us, so a single snapshot view of our queens from only one order and only one queen you proport to have successfully introduced.
For clarity there was a 2 day delay due to torrential rain, with your queens scheduled for 20th June and they arrived on 22nd June. This is not a significant delay given variability in weather and the fact we’re breeders and not resellers so do have things like weather and nature to contend with.
We always seek to forge good relationships with our customers and always help where we can. But we cannot help at the time if we don’t hear anything substantial from you for nearly 12 months and the first we hear is a publicly slanderous review. Clearly intended to do harm not covering the full facts.
The only contact we did received was a rather aggressive call that was noted for its nature a couple of days after receiving the queens and said you’d been through the hives only a day after introduction and couldn’t find 2 of the queens.
Sorry you felt insulted by our guidance, but we were only going by industry best practice. We advised against the check backs so soon as it is common knowledge that early interference is linked to higher incidences of rejection of queens.
Sorry that you took offence to this, however our job and product only goes so far, we produce queens, deliver queens, and your role is to successfully introduce them, if you fail at introduction then unfortunately we cannot be held responsible for that.
We advise leaving 2 weeks to allow for build up of the queens pheremones and brood pheromone which reduces chances of delayed rejection especially when introducing bees of different races. Again rather than heeding this advice you assume we say this offensively which we clearly do not. It is simply good practice. You just chose to do something different.
Regarding chalkbrood this is something that is known to be more prevalent in AMM / dark bees, but is something we try to select against, however chalkbrood is usually very minor and is brought on by challenging weather conditions, lack of flow or feed. You never mentioned an issue with chalkbrood before and would suggest this would have shown up last season in your inspections and had this been and issue we would have expected contact at the time. For reference in case it helps or helps anyone else reading this review (no offence meant!) Other compounding factors could be chalk spores being present on equipment, or locally and as such we’d suggest melting out all effected comb and sterilising frames etc. We do not tend to suffer chalk at all, so to hear of this is a surprise.
Really sorry that you felt you should leave a negative review first before contacting us to speak about this or provide any substantial evidence, as mentioned we can only help if we have contact and we would have loved to help, and will still help in anyway you can if you do choose to pick up the phone and speak to us.
We would have been happy to receive the queen back so we could have tested ourselves and try to substantiate any of the claims. But alas that opportunity has been taken away from us.
Best of luck with the beekeeping this season.