Polish Bumblebee

Polish Bumblebee specialist breeding farm offers the following commercial products:

Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) intended for pollinating crops under cover, fruit and berry crops. Young, inseminated and hibernated earth bumblebee queens, drones and bumblebee wax.

Bumblebees intended for the pollination of crops under cover are sold in two sizes of family/colony:
1) Medium colony (Queen + 60-80 female workers) – recommended pollination area: 1500 m2.
2) Large colony (Queen + 120-150 female workers) – recommended pollination area: 2500 m2.

Bumblebees intended for the pollination of fruit and berry crops are sold in the form of a large family/colony of 120-150 female workers, with additional drones – in fruit and field crops, male bumblebees are extremely effective pollinators.
All the families/colonies on offer are placed in safe and ecological unattended hives, ensuring the developmental comfort for bumblebees, and provided with sufficient food.
The total life span of the colonies is 8-12 weeks (this is the time from the opening of the hive to the death of the last individual).
The working life span of the offered colonies is 4-6 weeks (this is the period during which the number of female workers is maintained at the starting level, guaranteeing the pollination of the flowers on the right area).

The price of the families depends on the size of the order and continuity of supply.

Price list:
1) Medium colony: €70/1 pc. (+8% VAT)
2) Large colony: €85/1 pc. (+8% VAT)
3) Large, orchard colony: €100/1 pc. (+8% VAT)
4) "GIANT", orchard colony: €500/1 pc. (+8% VAT)

"GIANT" colony - 1000 female workers and ... just watch!

Bumblebees for pollination: "GIANT" hive

Bumblebee Hives - Garden hives for bumblebees

Queens and drones

In the climatic conditions of Poland, mating flights of bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) usually take place at the turn of July and August. After copulation, the queen does not return to her nest anymore, but searches for a suitable place for wintering, where she hibernates until early April. In our farm, due to the intensive nature of breeding, mating flights are carried out daily, so we have the necessary number of inseminated and hibernated queens capable of establishing a family/colony at any time of the year.

Price list:
1) Queens: €35/1 pc. (+8% VAT) – minimum order quantity – 100 pieces
2) Drones: €2/1 pc. (+8% VAT) – minimum order quantity – 100 pieces

Bumblebee wax

Wax, i.e. the secretion of special glands located on the body of bumblebees and used to build a nest is only a by-product of our business – we collect only a dozen or so kilograms per year.
It is as aromatic as regular beeswax, but darker and very malleable.

Price list:
10 dag – €40 (+8% VAT)

"POLSKI TRZMIEL" (POLISH BUMBLEBEE) – a specialist breeding farm – started operating (in a symbolic way) on 7 June 2002, when we were qualified and invited to participate in a very innovative and unique European project carried out by the Polish Ecological Club and Beekeeping Division of the Research Institute of Pomology and Floriculture in Puławy entitled: ”Implementation of bumblebees into agricultural practice by developing breeding of the selected species under controlled conditions”.

The programme was co-financed by the agenda of the UN–UNDP. Those directly responsible for its implementation were: Prof. Mieczysław Biliński – scientific supervision, and Dr Stanisław Flaga – the national project coordinator.

We received our first earth bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) queens, originating of course from Prof. Mieczysław Biliński’s the breeding operation in March 2003. Initially the breeding was only conducted seasonally and on a small scale. During the first three years all the bred families/colonies were distributed to local gardeners, schools and nature lovers, and each comment about how the bumblebees behaved and worked was carefully recorded, analysed and consulted with scientific supervisors. The next few years were devoted to the constant improvement of breeding technology, enlarging and equipping laboratories, developing our own breeding lines, and of course gaining new customers.

Nowadays, thanks to the persistence and hard work of the whole family, we are the largest farm in Poland engaged in the breeding and rearing of bumblebees on a year-round basis, and our customers are not only gardeners growing vegetables under cover and fruit growers, but also research institutions and universities.

Currently, of course, in the time free from "earning billions bucks", we are implementing our original breeding-business project entitled: ”Red - tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) - The pollinator of the future!?”. You can see one of the videos on this topic below.

Due to the flood of emails and phone calls from everyone interested in this topic, I am delighted to announce that I run bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) breeding courses every year, but only from October to December. These are individual courses lasting one, two, three or five days (everything depends on you). During the course I present and discuss all stages of bumblebee breeding in connection with important secondary subjects such as food preparation, syrup conservation, etc. I sit and talk, you work!

Of course, the course is free of charge – you only need to buy 100 queens for each day of your stay (one day – 100 pieces; three days – 300 pieces, etc.), which you have to dig up yourself. I also provide a professional English translator, hotel accommodation and meals in a nearby restaurant.

Important! All you need to start with is a temperature-controlled refrigerator and a 2x3m breeding room equipped with a heater, air humidifier, air dryer, thermometer, hygrometer.
Due to my professional duties and veterinary requirements, I ask you to book a visit well in advance.

Questions: Marcin Matuszak office@polishbumblebee.eu

P.S.
If you're crazy enough and have the financial resources, I can come to you for up to 3-4 months (one breeding cycle) and help you set up a professional and profitable bumblebee farm.

ONLINE COURSES:
For people who, for various reasons, cannot come to us for the stationary course, from JANUARY to APRIL we organise online courses. Online courses are free as well and like in the case of stationary courses You only need to purchase 100 queens (Bombus terrestris) for each day of our branch talks. The queens you purchase will remain for collection until the end of May. The queens that will not be picked up by then will be released into the wild.

Since we have our breeding duties, and You cannot work with us, we run online courses only on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 7.00 p.m. to 11.00 p.m.

Remember, nothing can replace a few days' visit to our breeding farm and direct work with us and our bumblebees.

POLISH BUMBLEBEE
Breeding and Rearing
of Bumblebees

Marcin Matuszak
Tymieniec Dwór 8
62-865 Szczytniki
Poland
e-mail: office@polishbumblebee.eu

Account Number:
Bank Spółdzielczy Ziemi Kaliskiej
31 8404 0006 2005 0028 5654 0001