On Thu, 20 Mar 1997, Angus Stokes wrote:
>>. Here in the UK the problem arises from
>> hybridisation of imported bees with native Apis mellifera
>> mellifera ( Dark European bee). Both the native and imported sub
>> species may be gentle but the mongrels which result from random
>> matings cause endless trouble.
On Sat 22 Mar 1997 Ian Watson wrote in reply:
>I beg to differ.
>The Buckfast HYBRID is a wonderfull example of the direct opposite of your
>premise. They are resistant to tracheal mites, and VERY gentle, as I have
>routinely worked them with no veil or gloves, wearing just short pants and
>a T-shirt. They are worlds apart in gentleness from my Italian bees.
>Brother Adam wasn't praticing "reckless acts of importation and
>hybridization" when he made the Buckfast Bee. He was making vast
>improvements.
>Maybe I'm missing something here though...
Yes, Brother Adam certainly did make what he regarded as
improvements to his bees. I didn't have him in mind when I wrote
originally and related our experiences with aggressive mongrel bees ,
but now you mention it.... my personal view is that the Brother Adam
hybridisation activity and the resulting Buckfast 'magic' bee
phenomenon is one the WORST things to happen to British beekeeping
and native bees. I am familiar with story, (read the book, seen the
video, visited Buckfastleigh), of Brother Adam and his lifelong
activities in beekeeping. He was a truly remarkable and devoted
beekeeper and many of his devotees hold him and his type of mongrel
bee in awe.
There is no doubt, that Adam both imported foreign queen
bees into his apiary and released the progeny from them into the
environment to mate with his own bees and of course, whatever
happened to be flying past. This is only reckless if you view the
random release of foreign species into the environment as
undesirable. It was within the law in the UK. . You still can
import a queen bee so long as you don't release it, but it is lawful
for the progeny to be released! Think of this, next time you pass
through customs into your own country try carrying a bunch of wild
plants to see how they view the importation and potential release
of foreign species. If you have laws in your country which prevent
the importation of bees and their diseases then consider yourself
fortunate.
What a great pity Adam didn't develop the bees that existed in Devon
instead of looking for the long shot or quick fix, a mish mash of
genes that formed a better bee than the local one he started with in
the first place. He could have done the job in a fraction of a
lifetime.
What Adam he did really well, was to observe his bees and select
which colonies he was keeping and decide which queens he culled.
We all know it doesn't take lifetime of experience to do this. Any
novice beekeeper can make a start by culling say, one third of
his/her queens every year and introducing queens from 'better'
stocks, for example quiet non-aggressive bees.
Buckfast strain - is it a legend, fact or just a (commercial) myth?
There are so many beekeepers' myths surrounding the attributes of
the legendary Buckfast hybrid that it is difficult to establish
what it is supposed to be. It seems that it can be all things to
all beekeepers. Can the so called 'strain' be uniquely identified
by an entomologist using any recognised scientific techniques? I
doubt it, never seeing any evidence or documentation. Having seen
bees from the UK, Denmark and USA, all of which were labelled
'Buckfast' by their owners, none of them even superficially looked
alike. Morphometric analyses of wing venation from these bees even
showed a diversity of form between individual bees from the same
colony --they were not a 'strain' but just hybrids, (or should
that be 'mongrels'.)
Correct me if I am mistaken, but I don't think Buckfast Abbey,
Devon, UK have been selling queen bees for years? Can you make
real 'champagne' in Australia or manufacture Rolex watches in
Taiwan? - just joking!
It seems that some amateurs who have a hive with stripy gentle bees
may fervently call it a 'Buckfast' strain. This labelling of local
bees 'Buckfast', 'Italian', Native, or whatever doesn't make them
better or worse than any other bee. Any strain is not easily
sustainable by an amateur with a few hives, even by instrumental
insemination. Pure line breeding is simply beyond the scope and
resources of most people unless they happen to live at the head of
a remote valley with no other beekeepers or wild bees within a
least 10 miles.
To return the original point of this discussion thread - 1ST
GENERATION HYBRIDS often demonstrate heterosis or hybrid vigour
which can make them successful collectors of honey whether they are
aggressive or not. It is the random chance matings of virgin
NATIVE (UK) queens with a variety of drones of mongrel origin
that often results aggressive colonies in my own apiaries. This
also happens with second generation hybrids. Obviously commercial
HYBRIDS, however they are labelled, when bred specifically to
eliminate aggressive behaviour would not be expected to be
aggressive.
Has anyone else noticed that bees aggressive towards humans are
often aggressive ROBBERS of other hives? They then get the
reputation for being good collectors of honey.
What is good for an Italian climate is unlikely to be success in
Canada. Surely what we are all seeking to develop and maintain, is
a bee that is best for our individual purposes, in our LOCAL
environment. The bees' given name is then irrelevant.
Here in the Derbyshire hills, U.K. the native bees are collecting
pollen from crocus, celandine and hazel for their little patches of
brood. No nectar around for a few weeks yet and the forecast is for
rain!
Regards,
Angus Stokes
http://www.angus.co.uk
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