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About Northshore Bees

At Northshore Bees, our mission is single-minded: to provide the highest quality Pol-line genetics to beekeepers across the continental United States. Based in the Northshore area of Southeast Louisiana, we operate a specialized breeding program focused on the Pol-line stock and the propagation of the VSH (Varroa Sensitive Hygiene) trait.

Our Connection to the Source

We are proud participants in a collaborative breeding program with the USDA Bee Lab in Baton Rouge, Louisiana—the birthplace of the Pol-line. This partnership allows us to work directly with the foundational genetics of the Pol-line, ensuring that the queens we produce maintain the authentic Pol-line characteristics of gentleness, honey production, and, most importantly, VSH-based mite resistance.

Data-Driven Selection for VSH: The Harbo Assay Protocol

We do not rely on open mating luck alone. Our Pol-line breeders undergo a rigorous, data-driven selection process to verify their VSH capabilities, ensuring the high expression of VSH in our Pol-line queens.

  1. Mite Washing and Infestation Monitoring: Every Pol-line colony in our apiary is subjected to multiple rounds of mite washing to determine precise phoretic mite loads. We only select Pol-line candidates that consistently maintain low mite loads naturally, indicating genetic resistance is at work.
  2. The Harbo Assay (VSH Quantification): To confirm that low mite counts are the direct result of VSH, we utilize the definitive Harbo Assay protocol. This advanced scientific testing method allows us to bypass general hygienic behavior and quantify the specific VSH behavior in our Pol-line breeders.


Why We Choose Pol-line and VSH

We believe mite resistance is the future of sustainable beekeeping. By selecting for high VSH expression within the Pol-line, we produce queens that actively interrupt the reproductive cycle of the Varroa mite. When you choose Northshore Bees, you are investing in Pol-line queens that are bred to fight mites through strong VSH behavior, tested and proven right here in Louisiana.