I currently have only three hives - one Carniolan, and two Russians. There
seem to be very clear differences between the two groups (granted that I'm
dealing with a very small representation). The Carniolan builds very fast
in Spring, attains considerable size, produces prodigiously, and uses very
little propolis. Their temperment seems medium - gentle on nice days, not
so gentle otherwise. They are completely defenseless against varroa without
treatment.
My two Russian hives have nearly identical characteristics, despite the fact
that the queens came from very different breeders. They are a bit slow to
build at first, but then come on very quickly later in the season. They are
*very* gentle, even on less than ideal days. They're considerably darker
than my Carniolans, and a bit smaller, and both use gobs of propolis (which
is sometimes a bit irritating). They both also seem to build comb in a
different manner from the Carniolan - they seem to work from side to side in
a super, as opposed to working from the center outward. They seem to
produce well, though a bit less than my Carniolan hive. Lastly, as I
mentioned in a previous post, they definitely store pollen differently than
my Carniolan hive. They salso eem to have some varroa resistance (very few
crawlers/k-wing/small abdomen, low mite drop counts) as opposed to my
Carniolans.
An obvious disclaimer here - I'm assuming that the guy I bought the
Carniolan nuc from knew what strain/race he had.
> Russians, as you call them, are Carniolans, just living in a separate
region.
> They are called Primorsky (spelling?) Carniolans.
>
> George Imirie
>
I have read conflicting information on the lineage of Russians. Some claim
them to be Caucasian, some say Carniolan, some say Macedonian. I think
Roger Morse referred to them as Caucasians, and lamented the fact that they
produce so much propolis (as I have seen in my hives).
My questions are: 1) What is the general consensus as to the Russian
lineage? 2) Do my racial observations match up with others?
Thanks,
Todd.
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