> >I'm presuming that the continued egg-laying under these conditions is a
> characteristic of Italian-type queens, and doesn't happen with the darker
> races? Is that true?
>

Don't know, but would make sense for a Mediterranean adapted race to have
queens that lay nearly year round.

As far as any negative rap on Aussie queens, I don't see any reason for it.
The Aussie bees that I have seen (in the US and in Australia) were
excellent, and I've watched them working hard in cold weather.  I'm
trialling some from another breeder here in Calif, and they have been
excellent in every respect, except being a bit more nippy.  I checked their
broodnests yesterday, and they were full of huge frames of solid brood,
whereas most of my other stocks were much smaller, due to our lack of
pollen.

Of course, the Aussie bees don't exhibit mite resistance, which is a
shortcoming for most places on the planet.

Randy Oliver

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