Melita Imported Queen | Italy 2026
Melita queens from Italy start arriving to Canada around the beginning of May and come weekly into June. Due to the current Covid-19 global pandemic, international cargo flights aren't being booked in advance. This means that confirmation on flights could be short notice. Bulk orders will have the option of arranging pick up at either the airport or at our warehouse location in Port Hope. Small orders will be available for pick up in Port Hope on the day of arrival.
Pick-up Information:
Queens are required to be picked up the day of arrival (at the airport) or the very next day (at our warehouse) after harvest to optimize survival and to avoid forfeiture of the non-refundable livestock purchases.
Strong, high quality, and healthy is what to expect from these Queens. Very gentle, and big honey producers.
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Strengths
- Considered to be gentle and non-aggressive
- Can be kept in populated areas
- Sense of orientation considered better than the Italian honey bee
- Less drifting of bees from one hive to a neighboring hive
- When compared to the Italian honey bee, they are not as prone to rob honey
- Able to overwinter in smaller numbers of winter bees
- Honey stores are conserved
- Able to quickly adapt to changes in the environment
- Better for areas with long winters
- Fast rhythm of brood production and then brood rearing reduction when available forage decreases
- Low use of propolis
- Resistant to brood diseases
- For areas with strong spring nectar flow and early pollination
- Forage earlier in the morning and later in the evening, and on cool, wet days
- Workers live up to 12% longer than other breeds
Pre-payment in full required on all Queen orders.
For commercial orders please call for pricing:
Clifford: 905-788-5588
2026 WEEK NUMBER CALCULATOR LINK
OCCASIONAL DELAYS IN PICK UP DATES MAY OCCUR DUE TO SEASONAL CIRCUMSTANCES.
$60.00 Priority overnight shipping
QUEENS SHIP AT BUYERS RISK
Please Note:
Imported and Local Queens are stored in queen banks as standard procedure to ensure the highest quality of health and survival.