Product Overview
California Italian Package Bees with AFB-Vaccinated Queen
Enhance your colony's defense with this package that features a vaccinated Italian queen specifically designed to combat American Foulbrood. Dalan's Oral Honeybee Vaccine offers vital protection for both the queen and her brood, ensuring your colony is safeguarded against the harmful effects of American Foulbrood.
The California Italian bees included in this package are renowned for their resilience, adaptability, and outstanding honey production, making them particularly suited for areas with early honey flows. These exceptional Italian bees are carefully bred to thrive in challenging conditions, utilizing their unique ability to adjust colony population based on the availability of pollen and nectar—an ideal choice for beekeepers facing tough environments.
Honeybee colonies face various stressors, with American Foulbrood (AFB) being one of the most severe bacterial infections. Research indicates that up to 50% of hives tested in Canada and the United States contain the bacterial spores responsible for AFB. Developed by Dalan Animal Health, this groundbreaking solution is the first and only biologic conditionally licensed by the USDA-CVB to combat AFB. The vaccine is safe, non-chemical, and compatible with organic farming practices. When queen bees are orally inoculated with Dalan's vaccine, it provides protection through a biological process known as transgenerational immune priming (TGIP), allowing the queen to pass immunity to her offspring before they emerge. By exposing queen bees to inactive bacteria, the vaccine helps ensure that larvae hatched within the hive can resist infection.
California Italian Bees with AFB Vaccinated Queen Key Features
When choosing honey bees for your colony, consider the following key attributes of the Italian species:
- Effective foraging habits
- Strong cleaning behaviors
- Gentle and docile temperament
- Prolificity, with a keen focus on brood-raising
- Lesser swarm tendencies than other subspecies
- Exceptional productivity and honey production capacities
- Has a propensity for efficient comb building and super entry
See our installation guide here to help get your new Italian colony settled in.
California Italian Package Bees Order and Pickup Details
These bee packages are available while supplies last. Pickup locations available in California.
By purchasing these bees, either online, by phone, via email, in person, or by mail, you are agreeing to the bee policy. Package bee orders need to be prepaid and are subject to a $10 change or cancellation fee after the payment has been processed. Cancellations within 14 days of the bee's estimated pick up date will incur a 50% cancellation fee. No cancellations or changes can be made within 7 days of the scheduled pick up date.
Lappe's Bee Supply does not guarantee that you will be able to successfully establish a colony with the package. You agree that you will not attempt to hold Lappe's Bee Supply responsible for the condition fo your package bees once picked up and in your possession, or the for the survival or productivity of the hive that you establish from the package. We will not provide refunds or replacements for package bees that fail to thrive or die after receipt.
