At Novak Carnica Queen, we take great care of the bees’ wellbeing. It is in our interest our bees reach you in perfect shape, as it directly influences your experience with them. However, you should be aware what happens in transit is never 100 % reliable, so it is not the case with live animals either. From our part, we make sure:

The bees are properly nurtured throughout all seasons

No good beekeeper ever relies on the bees managing on their own in these ever more unpredictable weather conditions. They rather check and double check all the bees’ needs are met throughout the season. We know our spring bees are the result of our efforts in August the previous year, so nothing is left to chance.

Carefully collected for each order

We collect our Queens before their first brood is capped. This is a security measure we take in order to make sure the Queens left us properly mated, accepted and nurtured. All the bees accompanying the Queen in a Queen cage or a Package bee must be of just the right age. No beekeeper wants to see the Queens’ escort laying still on the box floor, so we minimize this possibility by choosing the right bees for every single shipping unit.

Securely packed and equipped with necessities for the transfer

Queen bees are accompanied by young, nurturing bees who keep the Queen bee fed and calm. The bees are sent in custom made shipping boxes with airvents and liquid food. They are always stacked in a way which prevents overheating. Queenless Package bees contain a synthetic Queen bee pheromone which keeps the bees calm throughout the journey.

Sent through verified routes

For this purpose, we have conducted many “mock shipments” to different countries. We prepare the packages as if it was for real – and post without the bees. We monitor the progress of the journey and compare the time it took to get the package delivered to our previous record. If the shipment is taking far too long to reach the addressee (as has been the case in 2021), we advise our clients to pause, postpone or reconsider their purchase. It has never been in our interest to send our bees to death. We rather refund the purchase and try to maintain a friendly relationship with our customers.