Foley's Russian Bees is an Indianola, Iowa based producer of Primorsky Russian bees and beekeeping equipment. We specialize in Russian mated queens and Russian nucleus hives. Our queens can be shipped anywhere in the U.S., but we do not send nucs and packages through the mail. We also deal in the transporting of “package bees” for honey producers and organizations.A little more about us:We are on our way to being a certified member of the Russian Honeybee Breeders Association. We hope to in the next year be able to announce that we are fully certified but for now we have the title of “non-certified Russian BeeBreeder Association member” We still manage all of our yards in accordance with the RHBA standards and hold them in highest regard. Each year we continue to cycle stock with certified members of the RHBA. If for any reason we cannot assist you with your needs, please refer to the RHBA website for other producers of pure line Russian stock.We do not “hybridize” our Russians with other bee lines in any way. If you are buying a Russian bee from a person who is NOT a certified member, ensure you know what you are getting. Many of the key benefits people buy Russians for are lost when they are bred with another line of bees. This is the case with all refined lines of bees. Hybrid essentially means that the stock is now watered-down or a mutt. We strive to only treat on those rare occasions where enough enviormental factors have added up to there being a risk with mite counts. The Russian line of bees is not a mite free bee (there are no bees out there that are), but it is a highly mite resistant bee that actively fends off mites. The presence of mites in our hives are so low year round that often times we don’t find a single mite during testing (Go Russians!). Russians are also found to be naturally disease resistant and are one of the few stocks currently being researched for this trait. The Russian line of bees has been very carefully crafted and managed over the years by the Russian Honeybee Breeders Association and the USDA. Foley’s Russian Bees holds their efforts in the highest regard and strives to live by their example.
Welcome to Foley’s Russian Bees
New for 2024We are now offering AFB Inoculated Queens. in 2023we became licensed through Dalan Animal Healthto produce and sell inoculated queens.