Colonsay British Black Queen Bee

Colonsay British Black Bee Genetics

In 2025 we visited the Isle of Colonsay with bee farmer and Black Bee breeder Andrew Abrahams, selecting breeding material to bring back to Northumberland for further work within our own British Black Bee programme.

From this material we produced instrumentally inseminated daughters for evaluation, with selected genetics subsequently retained within our breeding population.

One of these lines is maintained within our records as Col 1 and continues to form part of our wider Apis mellifera mellifera breeding work.

Why Aren’t Colonsay Queens For Sale in 2027?

For 2027, we have simplified our commercial queen offering while concentrating more of our resources on breeding, daughter testing and our commercial honey-producing colonies.

Our Colonsay and other British Black Bee genetics have not been abandoned. They continue to be maintained and evaluated as part of our wider breeding programme.

Our principal commercially available mated queen for 2027 is the Northumberland Buckfast.

VIEW NORTHUMBERLAND BUCKFAST QUEENS

Our British Black Bee Breeding Programme

The Colonsay line is only one part of our wider work with British Black Bee and Apis mellifera mellifera genetics.

Alongside Colonsay material, we have maintained and evaluated locally adapted Northumberland dark bees and other British Amm lines, selecting for characteristics including frugality, temperament, overwintering, colony health and performance under northern British conditions.

Selected British Black Bee genetics have also contributed to the longer breeding history of our Northumberland Buckfast population.

EXPLORE OUR BRITISH BLACK BEE PROGRAMME