Bill Lord writes:
> I am wondering if it would be offensive if we had a
> discussion as to the merits of different queens on this list? I
> have no desire to tear anyone down, but I would like to know who
> has good stock, particularly for my part of the country, and I
> don't mind passing on my observations.
Hi,
This should be a great subject for discussion.
I'm not sure how much of the variation is due to the breeders themselves
and how much is due to the environment into which the queens go. A
couple of examples: I had a south-island New Zealand queen a few years
back, whose workers were out just about *all* hours in all temperatures,
but there often wasn't a honey flow whilst they were working so *here*
they ate all they collected; A popular world-famous line of bee was bred
to not start the year too early -- now in the UK we have oil seed rape
almost everywhere and we *need* them early.
Additionally, people have different expectations of their bees. Some
like them very gentle; some like them rather spiky; some want minimal
swarming at the expense of everything else; Some want honey getting,
never mind a bit of swarm control. Everyone wants disease resistance,
but there may have to be a trade off for some other characteristic for a
while at least.
I think the breeders should find the feedback useful. However if we
mention particular suppliers, we need to say that John Doe's bees were a
bit too spiky for me, here, this season. The bee breeders will be doing
their best to get what they want and what they believe their customers
want, but they can't please all of the people, all of the time.
It would be very sad (and possibly disasterous) if they all ended up
breeding a virtually identical bee to suit the same 60% of the
population.
Regards,
--
Gordon Scott [log in to unmask] 100332,3310 on CompuServe
Newsletter [log in to unmask] ditto
Beekeeper, Kendo Sandan, sometime sailor.
Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG22 5HP, UK
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