>  Maybe I misunderstood Mike Palmer, he can correct me.
>A few years back when I was having wintering problems,
>Mike mentioned that Kirk may be having Champlain
>Valley Queens for sale.  I believe the mention was
>that they were darker bees unique to the Champlain
>Valley, that were bred for many years over several
>generations, and we very winter hardy and a bit hot to
>work at times.  What happened to thses hardy Valley
>queens? They all die?


I must have missed this. Can't always read those long posts all the way
through.

The Mraz's did breed a bee, by allowing the bees to raise their own queens
in the Champlain Valley. The bees are as stated above. Kirk moved to the
area because of that bee. He wanted to take advantage of its wintering
ability. He was able to select for Tracheal mite resistance, and until
Varroa came, had a great bee. It wasn't very varroa tolerant, so he
experimented with Russians. He now has isolated mating yards in the
mountains, to get away from that valley bee. He says his Russians gather
more honey per bee than any bee he has ever seen. Charlie Mraz's grandson,
Chas, is now running their bees. They are still managing their bees the
same as ever, and having severe Varroa problems.
Mike


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