Northern Cyprus Breeds Its First Queen Bees

Northern Cyprus has successfully bred its first queen bees. They were raised in hives brought to Güzelyurt by the Iskele Municipality’s Queen Bee Breeding Facility, using the blossoms of citrus trees. In the coming days, these queen bees will be distributed to local beekeepers through the Beekeepers Association of Northern Cyprus.

According to a statement from the Iskele Municipality, the cooperation protocol signed between the municipality and the Beekeepers Association is already showing promising results. Queen bee production will continue until the end of September, with additional hives scheduled to be delivered to the facility in the village of Mersinlik in about 20 days.

Iskele Mayor Hasan Sadıkoğlu visited Güzelyurt to see the progress firsthand and meet the first queen bees bred under the program. To support the growth of the beekeeping sector in the country, approximately 10,000 queen bees need to be produced each year. In this initial phase, around 2,500 queens are expected to be bred.

The facility currently has the capacity to produce about 400 queen bees per month. While this year's production won't fully meet the demand, plans are already underway to meet the entire queen bee needs of Northern Cyprus next year. Queen bees bred locally will be available through the Beekeepers Association of Northern Cyprus.

Beekeepers interested in obtaining queen bees can contact the association at +90 392 227 09 62.