John Partin wrote:
>
> Are you saying that if I bought a good tested AI queen from a very good
> queen breeder from the NORTH and raised queens in the South from this
> queen that some how her offspring would not be as good as queens  raised
> from her sisters bred to the same drones  raised in the NORTH.

> BUD
        No Bud, you are close but not quite right.

        A queens genetics won't change no matter where they are raised, bred,
live. The queen is the same. Moving a colony will not change their
genetics or characteristics either. The part that will be different is
the characteristics they are selected for, in a very specific sense. Let
me expound on this a little.

        Broad selection universal characteristics could be, honey productive,
good egg patterns, disease resistance, docility, etc. All of us want
these and more. Year after year if we select for these traits properly
most probably these traits will come out, whether we raise our queens in
Maine or Eastern Virginia. Yet these queens may exhibit very different
characteristics when examined closely. Let's examine why in an analysis
of a single broad trait- good honey production.

        Obviously the Winters are cooler in Maine- so what, bees from Virginia
will cluster just fine and stay alive. The difference is more subtle
than this. Because of the different seasons, different crops will grow
at different times. In Eastern Virginia we get our crop all at one time,
in April and May, petering out in June, over and extracted by fourth of
July. (Except for special and rare crops.) Anything else is gravy and
winter buildup occurs in September and October with help from maple in
Jan. Some years the dearth is so bad in July and August the drones are
pushed out by 14 July. This means that in order to get a crop an egg
must be laid @40 days prior to the beginning of the nectar flow in order
to be field force for it. An egg laid on March 1 may not be ready if the
flow starts a little early. Within 2 weeks of the begin of the flow the
colonies will start swarm preps if not properly managed. What does this
mean? The successful/productive colony in Eastern VA must be capable of
very fast spring buildup followed by effective water gathering
capabilities and not dwindle too quickly so as to be strong enough to
gather sufficient stores to make it through the winter once the late
August rains return. Many years the queen will continue to lay through
the entire winter.

        I may be a little off here (but you'll get the point). Spring comes
later in Maine and summers are cooler. Yeah, so (obvious)? Cranberry and
Blueberry and other spring crops will be later in the year, the crop
seasons will not have a 1 month gap and colony sizes will not have to be
sustained as long. Perhaps rapid Spring buildup will still be important
but switching to water gathering and efficient cooling will not carry
the same weight in selection. Rapid dwindling of colony size may be more
of an asset to preserve winter stores as non flying weather will onset
months earlier in relation to the end of the first dearth than the
colonies in Eastern VA and efficient cooling will not be as necessary.

        The comment refers more to active selection of queens "to" different
climates than to selection of characteristics of queens "in" different
climates. It is tough for a keeper in VA to select a colonies traits
suitable for Maine. This does not mean it will a an inferior or superior
queen. It means the selection of productive hives within selected traits
may vary. The reason why queens from warmer areas are used is because
queen rearing weather arrives earlier in the warmer climates and
therefore queens are available first there.

        The brothers in the North are just a capable and vice versa, sometimes
timing is paramount.

Thom Bradley
Chesapeake, VA (imagine that, eastern VA)