The Golden West Story
Developed by Randy Oliver and his sons at Golden West Bees, these queens come from a highly respected operation that runs 1,500 hives, pollinates almonds, and produces thousands of nucs—all without synthetic miticides since 2001. Their selective breeding program began when they discovered a colony with zero mites in 2017—leading to years of data-driven selection from their healthiest, most mite-resistant, gentle, and productive colonies.
By 2023, some yards saw over half their colonies maintain mite levels below 2% all season, even in high-drift environments and without treatments. While the genetics aren’t fully fixed yet, beekeepers currently have about a 50% chance of getting a colony that shows strong natural mite resistance—and even “non-resistant” colonies tend to require fewer treatments.
Why Choose Golden West Packages?
Golden West queens are bred for:
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Gentleness
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Colony health and vigor
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Excellent honey production
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Strong pollination performance
Their partnership with Olivarez Honey Bees ensures queens are open-mated with Oliver-selected drones in isolated yards, reinforcing the traits beekeepers care about most.
If you want cutting-edge, field-proven genetics backed by real scientific selection, Golden West packages are an outstanding choice.
To learn more about the development of these queens, visit ScientificBeekeeping.com.
