What Strachan Apiaries does

Strachan Apiaries, Inc. is a privately held, family-owned beekeeping and queen breeding operation founded in 1954 by Don Strachan in Yuba City, California, and currently led by his daughter Valeri Severson (President and owner) with her son Philip Strachan-Russell serving as Vice President and Operations Manager. The company manages approximately 10,000 hives from its Sacramento Valley headquarters at 2522 Tierra Buena Road, Yuba City, and operates as the world's largest producer of the New World Carniolan (NWC) Queen Bee — a closed-population genetic line originally established in 1982 by Susan Cobey and Tim Lawrence through collection, back-crossing, and evaluation of Carniolan stock from across the U.S. and Canada. Core technology centers on instrumental insemination and the Page-Laidlaw Closed Population Breeding Program, conducted in cooperation with Ohio State University, with annual evaluation cycles selecting top-performing colonies to propagate the next generation; all breeding stock undergoes hygienic testing for disease resistance.

The company's product portfolio comprises New World Carniolan Queens (priced $31.50–$39.00 per queen across volume tiers of 1–5, 6–24, 25–99, and 100+ units), Italian Queens as an alternative breed, premium Breeder Queens at $1,250 each for commercial breeding operations, and queen introduction support services. Go-to-market is direct-to-customer via phone ordering at (530) 674-3881 and an online ordering system on strachanbees.com, with orders opening each September for the following season (2026 orders opened September 2, 2025). Distribution is domestic U.S. via UPS shipping, with payment accepted via check, money order, cashier's check, and credit card; breeder queen orders under 50 units require full payment at ordering, while orders of 50+ require a 25% deposit with balance due two weeks before shipment. The customer base consists primarily of commercial beekeeping operations requiring genetically superior, disease-resistant breeding stock for queen production, honey production, and pollination services, plus a secondary segment of breeding operations purchasing premium breeder queens to establish or improve their own breeding programs.

Name

Strachan Apiaries

Legal name

Strachan Apiaries Inc.

Website

https://strachanbees.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1954

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Strachan Apiaries is a family-owned, Yuba City-based beekeeping operation managing 10,000 hives and producing New World Carniolan Queen Bees for commercial beekeepers and breeding operations across the United States via direct phone and online sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Queen Bee Breeding

NAICS

Apiculture (112910), Apiculture (11291)

akta.pro primary industry

Bee Breeding & Genetics (Trait Selection, Stock Improvement) (AFAEAHAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Honey Production & Extraction (AFAEAHAA), Bee Health Management & Treatments (Mite/Disease Control Products & Services) (AFAEAHAK)

Keywords

• Queen bee breeding
• Carniolan honey bees
• Beekeeping supplies
• Queen bee sales
• Apiary products

Headquarters

HQ city

Yuba City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Queen Bee Sales: Sale of New World Carniolan Queen Bees and Italian Queens to beekeepers. Volume-based pricing tiers with discounts for larger orders. Additional charges for marking and shipping.
2. Breeder Queen Sales: Premium breeder queens priced at $1,250 each for commercial breeding operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Strachan Apiaries breeds and sells queen honey bees, with the New World Carniolan Queen as its flagship product, alongside Italian Queens and premium Breeder Queens for commercial breeding operations. The company manages approximately 10,000 hives in Yuba City, California, producing queens sold direct to beekeepers through phone and website orders with UPS shipping.

Product overview

Strachan Apiaries operates as a single-product-focused beekeeping and queen breeding company, with its flagship offering being the New World Carniolan Queen Bee. The company also offers Italian Queens as an alternative breed, premium Breeder Queens for professional breeding operations, and queen introduction support services. All products are centered around bee breeding and queen production from their 10,000-hive operation in Yuba City, California.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• New World Carniolan Queens Premium queen bees bred through the New World Carniolan Closed Breeding Program using instrumental insemination and strict annual evaluation protocols; available in volume tiers priced from $31.50 to $39.00 per queen.
• Italian Queens Italian queen bees offered as an alternative breed to customers ordering bees through Strachan Apiaries' direct sales channels.
• New World Carniolan Breeder Queens Premium high-value breeder queens priced at $1,250 each for professional queen breeders and large-scale queen breeding operations; orders of less than 50 queens must be paid in full at ordering, larger orders require 25% deposit with balance due two weeks prior to shipping.

Quantifiable outcome

• Rigorous annual evaluation ensures continuous genetic improvement of New World Carniolan Queen Bee traits

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ohio State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1990Cooperative effort between OSU and Strachan Apiaries maintains and propagates the New World Carniolan breeding stock. In 1990, the NWC breeding program was moved to Ohio State University. In 2021, the program was transferred in part to Strachan Apiaries. Working with Susan Cobey from OSU using Page-Laidlaw Closed Population Breeding Program.
• Susan CobeycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1982Susan Cobey (Bee Breeder-Geneticist) and Tim Lawrence originally established the New World Carniolan in 1982 in California. Stock from across the U.S. and Canada was collected, back crossed, and evaluated to establish the foundation population. Cobey provides ongoing expertise for the breeding program.
• National Honey BoardminorOthersValeri Severson, President and owner of Strachan Apiaries, Inc., is a past board member of National Honey Board. Serves as an industry leadership role.
• California State Beekeepers AssociationminorOthersBoth Valeri Severson and Philip Russell have served as President of the California State Beekeepers Association. Don Strachan also served as President in 1989 (centennial year) and became Honorary Life Time Member in 1992.
• UC Davis Department of EntomologyminorOthersListed as a resource link; Susan Cobey is associated with UC Davis. Collaborative relationship in beekeeping research and education.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• BeeWeaver Apiaries: BeeWeaver Apiaries is a Texas-based commercial queen and honey producer with comparable scale and a similar focus on breeding improved honey bee genetics for commercial beekeepers nationwide.
• Wildflower Meadows: Wildflower Meadows is a California-based commercial queen bee breeder specializing in Varroa-resistant stock, directly competing with Strachan's NWC genetics in the same regional commercial and hobbyist market segments.
• Hardeman Apiaries: Hardeman Apiaries is a long-running commercial queen bee producer serving commercial beekeepers with Italian and other queen genetics, directly comparable in business model and target customer segment.
• C.F. Koehnen & Sons: C.F. Koehnen & Sons is a long-established California-based commercial queen bee and package bee producer, directly comparable to Strachan Apiaries in product offering, customer base, and California operating geography.
• Kona Queen Hawaii: Kona Queen is one of the largest commercial Italian queen bee producers in the U.S., operating at scale comparable to Strachan's 10,000-hive operation and serving the same commercial beekeeper segment with year-round production capability.

Broad incumbents

• GloryBee: GloryBee is a large Oregon-based honey producer and beekeeping supply company with queen bee offerings as part of a broader honey and supplies business, addressing many of the same commercial and hobbyist customers.
• Dadant & Sons: Dadant & Sons is one of the oldest and largest U.S. beekeeping equipment and supply companies, offering queens alongside a broad catalog of hives, tools, and apparel that serves overlapping commercial beekeeper customers.
• Mann Lake Ltd. Mann Lake is a major U.S. beekeeping supplies and equipment company that also sells queens and package bees as part of a much broader product portfolio, competing indirectly with Strachan across multiple beekeeping input categories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/Strachan-Apiaries/122876981104014
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/strachan-apiaries-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Strachan Apiaries