Hi...
 
Does anyone have any recommendations about the best breed of bees
for a novice?  I've never kept bees before, but I bought a hive
this winter and have it assembled, painted and waiting in my garage.
I've been reading Gleanings, ABC-XYZ, and the Hive and the Honeybee.
From what I can tell, if I want a gentle race, I should probably
go for Midnight or Ruckfast, right?
 
I've talked to a couple of people in the local beekeepers association,
and they suggested that I might want to buy an established hive from
someone in the area.  I was kind of uncomfortable about this, since
I wasn't sure if I would know what race I'd be getting.  I figured
that it would be best to deal with someone advertising for the kind of
bees that I want.  Am I worrying over nothing?
 
Oh, I should probably mention that I live in central Ohio, in the middle
of a rural area.  There're lots of woods, corn, soybeans, tomatoes,
pasture, etc. growing nearby.  We also have a pond and a stream (the
latter dried up during last years drought, but it's now flowing again).
 
Thanks in advance for any advice/info.
 
				Jeff
---
Jeff Frontz                                              Work:  +1 614 860 2797
AT&T-Bell Labs (CB 0A-119)                               Cornet:       353-2797
att!jeff.frontz           [log in to unmask]            Home:  +1 614 924 2205