About Us
Honey Bee Genetics & Tauzer Apiaries
Today, Honey Bee Genetics and our pollination company, Tauzer Apiaries, work together to support the health, strength, and productivity of honey bee colonies through quality queen breeding, genetic selection, and commercial pollination services.
Honey Bee Genetics continues to utilize the successful queen-rearing techniques that beekeepers have trusted for more than four decades. We continually evaluate and test our genetic stock, carefully selecting and breeding queens for specific hygienic traits that help colonies develop greater resistance to Varroa mites and other diseases. Through our commitment to research and innovation, Honey Bee Genetics and Tauzer Apiaries partner with the USDA and UC Davis to evaluate breeding stock for hygienic behaviors and other important characteristics.
In addition to our queen-rearing program, Tauzer Apiaries provides commercial pollination services, helping growers meet their pollination needs with strong, healthy honey bee colonies. Our experience in both queen production and commercial beekeeping gives us a unique understanding of the importance of healthy genetics, colony strength, and sustainable beekeeping practices.
Honey Bee Genetics was purchased by the Tauzer Family in April 2020. The Tauzer Family has maintained a longstanding relationship with Tom Parisian and shares a deep appreciation for the specialized queen-rearing practices and reputation that Honey Bee Genetics has built over the years.
Together, Honey Bee Genetics and Tauzer Apiaries combine decades of beekeeping experience, a commitment to genetic improvement, and dependable pollination services. Our goal is to support healthier honey bee populations while providing quality queens and strong colonies to the beekeeping and agricultural industries.
Honey Bee Genetics History
Steve Taber and Tom Parisian began Honey Bee Genetics in 1979 with a goal of breeding a disease resistant stock of hygienic bees with an ability to overcome American Foulbrood. He gained expertise by breeding bees for specific characteristics that led to changes in hygienic and resistant behavior in the entire breeding line. Later, this stock was also shown to have resistance traits linked to Chalkbrood Disease.
In 1993, the USDA chose Honey Bee Genetics to breed a “Yugo” Carniolan stock via instrumental insemination. Originally from the Carnica Mountains in Yugoslavia where Carniolan honey bees (Apis mellifera carnica) along with Asian honey bees (Apis cerana) are thought to have been parasitized by Varroa mites for many years and show natural resistance to them. As the Varroa destructor mite became more prevalent in the US and other areas of the world, research in Germany and Minnesota have shown that hygienic and resistance related traits give bees the ability to mitigate Varroa mite infestations and related diseases.