Gary C. Lewis asked about
> grease patties in winter....
 
This was asked and answered last week.  Although I haven't searched the
archives, the answer was to the effect that grease patties inserted in
late fall/early winter are not consumed nearly as fast as grease patties
inserted in warmer months.  In other words, insert a grease patty in
late October/early November and some of it will most likely still be
around in late February/early March when it's close to be opening your
hives for early (perhaps VERY early) spring evaluations.  Contributing
authors to the answer included George Imirie, LLoyd Spear and myself.
 
Gary C. Lewis also asked about:
> ... the different breeds (of bees) that are out there for us to try.
specifically
>   "Yugoslavian ARS-Y-C-1"?
 
Also asked and and answered.  The ARS-Y-C-1 are hybrid bees, some of the
genetic material coming from Yugoslavian bees which showed resistence
towards tracheal mites.  As far as the traits of ARS-Y-C-1 bees I
cannot offer personal testimony, I've never used them.  However, the
responses on BEE-L can be retrieved by sending to:
               [log in to unmask]
a single line of mail that reads:
               SEARCH BEE-L "ARS-Y-C-1"
many hits will be returned.
 
As far as "Which are better, ARS-Y-C-1 or midnights or starlines or
italians or buckfast or ..." the answer given (correctly so) is no one
can say what bee is better for Gary Lewis than Gary Lewis, and only
after Gary Lewis has tried 'em all, from many different breeders, for
many seasons in many hives.  There are many variables that will influnce
your results, including location (both generally and specifically -
results may vary from one region to another, even if the regions are
in the same area (like Southeast US) but different locations (like
Southeast US in N. Carolina, Greene county, rt 43, 3 miles east of
Bodunk OR Southeast US in N. Carolina, Greene county, rt 43, 1 mile west
of Bodunk, near a van down by the river).  The same bees may perform
differently in yards only 4 miles apart!
 
Gary's question is too general for this global list.  A specific answer
simply is not available for such a general question.  Ask local
beekeepers in your area what bees have worked best for them and realize
your results may vary.
 
Suggested reading: _In_Search_for_the_Best_Strains_of_Bees_ by Brother
Adam.
 
Aaron Morris - thinking globally, acting BEE-Lly