From andy.nachbaur@beenet.com Mon Aug 18 07:03:49 1997 Date: Fri, 15 Aug 1997 16:39:00 GMT From: Andy Nachbaur Subject: Re: Hawain Queen Bees & Mite Resistance NW>From: Nick Wallingford >Date: Sat, 16 Aug 1997 02:23:45 +1200 >Subject: Re: Hawain Queen Bees & Mite Resistance NW>> If we continue to bring bees from mite free areas into mite infested area s >> I doubt we can improve the degree of mite resistance of our bees. If we >> persist doing so, I believe we are fighting against nature. NW>contents in a timely manner). 'Resistance' or 'susceptibility' to >mites is a hygenic behaviour not specific to having a mite present... Hi Nick, This is only one way that so called "resistance" may happen, and is not exclusive. My own idea on rearing queens and one that is followed by the majority of those who do it for a living is: one should use the best stock.. Each of us differ on what is the best stock or how we go about finding it, which assumes that we are looking and do not now have it. The only way I know of testing stock is by hands on experience with it and I would each summer buy 25 to 100 queens from several to a dozen other bee breeders in the US, and including queens sent to me for testing bootlegged from various research stations including daughters of all imported stock. I can honestly say that excepting how these queens were handled by the producer, or in shipment, that there were some differences, but this was/is the exception. A difference is something that can be measured, and in commercial beekeeping is must have a positive dollar value. Yes I have had bees that produced many different eye colors, and drones without hair, or bees with all gold color, these things are interesting but are not cost effective as they are seldom the stock that produces the most honey, but when they are those are included in the breeding line or I would not have had them in the first place. The one big exception was stock from a old time caucasian breeder who has now doing his bees in heaven. He shipped true sisters and his stock was much more productive then the average. The summer divides made with them produced much more honey then the total for the year made by the hives they were made up from. In the millions of hive visits I have made over the year I have never found any stock that was as gentle. I use to take visiting beekeepers out to these hives in the worst of conditions and just rip one of these hives apart with no smoke or protection for me or my guests, tossing the bees into the air and never would anyone get stung or would these bees make any attempt to sting anyone. Sadly the breeder queens from this test were lost and the original breeder in Georgia passed on. Other differences found were the poor temperament in the Hawaii bees, which are still purchased by many good beekeepers because they can be had early in the season when no others are available and this is an advantage to those who make up increase for others. I have no reason to doubt that these queens are not as aggressive as they once were, but I have not used them myself, and have not asked my neighbors who do get them from beekeepers early each spring to make increase. Another difference found through early experience was that some breeders from the south had bees that were susceptible to Chalk Brood, something that eliminates them from the breeder selection. It is safer to over look one cell of AFB then one Chalk Brood mummy in a breeder queen, but I would discard both myself. The best queens are always those produced by an experienced beekeeper in his own bee yards from his own stock produced for his own use. If you can't get those then the 2nd best is the queen you pick up yourself from a bee breeder within driving range of your own apiaries. After that it is a crap shoot. The way you get experience selecting breeder queens is by doing it yourself. Rank your own hives and keep a record on the hive or in a book or pc. You judge them for the qualities you feel are important to you and that can range from the color you want to the amount of pollen that can be collected from them. The actual breeding process can be as simple as using brood from that hive to start other hives and queens the natural way to artificial insemination. Some bee breeders will use your queen to rear queens for you, ask around. Try as many other queens in your production hives as you can, it is a fun thing to do and it is interesting to discover the not always so obvious difference of other beekeepers stock. One final word of caution, don't put your trust in bee breeders who have the biggest advertizements. Some bee breeders spend more effort on composing their adverting then working their own bees. Right now I don't know of any real dud's, but in the past we have had a few real ringers who made all kinds of claims in their advertising they could not live up too and disappointed many beekeepers and picked their pockets clean. BEE WARE, their is some safety in beekeepers working together so keep in contact with your neighboring beekeepers and you hand on your wallet when around those who want to sell you something, bee it information or bees. ttul, the OLd Drone (c) Permission is granted to freely copy this document in any form, or to print for any use. (w)Opinions are not necessarily facts. Use at own risk.