I have never kept these bees but a number of our association members have my
experiences with them are below
 1 The purchased queens(from more than one source) have been gentle and easy
to handle although a bit variable.
2 Their daughter queens or maybe the next generation again mated in this
area(Hertfordshire) have given rise to some of the meanest colonies I have
ever handled. Up until 1984 the old established bee supply company of E H
Taylor was situated only a few miles away and they had imported queens on
and off since early this century,the bees in this area are a mix possibly as
a result.blacks yellows and everything in-between. I do not know if this has
any influence on the daughter queens but I suspect it may well do.
    This experience put me off buying buckfast bees as I did not want to be
constantly buying in queens. For the last 10 years or so I have raised most
of my own queens and though there is room for improvement I am fairly happy
with the bees I have. Having a young family has been a great incentive to
ruthlessly cull the queens from bad tempered colonies, we do not need to
wear veils to handle the bees in the home apiary. I never met any buckfast
bees which were as gentle as this.
      Peter
 
Peter and Barbara Dalby, England
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