At 12:23 PM 5/20/98 -0700, you wrote:
 
>The question was never really answered.
 
> Some one replied:"Don't believe all you read" and went on
 
This should be said again and again. In my experience of over 40 years, and
that not only includes buying and using queens but going out of my way to
actually do a hands on visit with many bee breeders to see first hand how
they do it so I could do it better. For a "fact" more times then not those
with the biggest Ads, and those who promote their stock as being better at
anything other then the queen being mated should be avoided like the plague.
 
(The questions below are answered by the above.)
 
>  So with that said. What exactly is an "Yugoslavian ARS-Y-C-1"? How do
>they/it differ from the Italian(all I've ever had)? What is/are
>"Midnight" and "Starline"? I have heard this name many times "Buckfast".
>People seems to think highly of them. Why?
 
Over the years I have tried all of the above and did not find them to meet
my own standards and did not find them to demonstrate any value not found
in any other stock and in some cases they demonstrated some real negative
traits such as ill temper of the "yugo's" and relitive short live span of
the queens. Midnights and Starline's were once connected to the MicroSoft
of the bee industry, DADANT & Sons, and for awhile were worth the extra
cost when Dadant's kept their own bees and had several of the best beemen
in the US on their payroll, but that is not the way it is today and I would
not recommend this stock to anyone but those who just want to try something
new and don't care about the cost or getting their neighbors stung.
 
Others I am sure will tell you a different story and thats great, I want to
read them myself,  and things do change, but for certain the only way to
judge anyone's queens is to try them yourself and make up your own
mind...over a period of years.
 
ttul, the OLd Drone
http://beenet.com
 
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