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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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Subject:
From:
James Fischer <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sat, 14 Jul 2018 07:28:31 -0400
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> And yes, they are open mated, so any claim of "purity," 
> unless the producer has an isolated mating yard, is silly.

Despite open mating, I think most all the major producers do a pretty good
job of flooding the DCAs with drones from their own drone colonies.

I speak only of what I get, not the methods used.  I have no idea how much
culling goes on.

The anomaly here is the Southeastern US package/queen producers, some
relying on a pretty ragtag bunch of subcontractors to actually provide the
bees and the queens.  The reseller of bees with subcontractors is different
from the vertically integrated producer of something for which they strive
to establish "brand name recognition".  Note that there are no "brand names"
for any specific bees among the Southeastern US suppliers of bees and
queens, while the California producers have a name for everything, the most
recent being "Razzmatazz" or something like that.  Apple pollination
requires a bee that will rapidly respond to very early carbs and protein and
get some brood started in the snow.  They are also quick to shut down egg
laying in fall, which is another nice trait, easy to notice.  and I have yet
to be disappointed in these key traits associated with "Carnies" of one
flavor or another, when purchased from California suppliers.

I cannot say the same for the Southeastern US suppliers.  They literally can
sell "almost anything with wings". The large number of hobby beekeepers east
of the Mississippi (it is interesting to note that the bulk of the
beekeepers are east of the Mississippi, while the bulk of the bees are west
of the Mississippi) create a solid demand that tends to reserve and purchase
every package shaken each spring, and, on occasion, result in shortages,
most often due to weather issues.

I played with raising my own queens for a few years, but a queen is just
about the cheapest thing I can buy in beekeeping, so a professionally-raised
queen is not a luxury, it is a sound business decision.  The make/buy
analysis is likely the most basic thing one is taught in engineering, and
"engineering" is the art doing for $0.75 what any fool can do for $1.00.

I am not alone in my fondness for western queen producers, as both the Beach
Boys and Katy Perry have waxed poetic about "California Girls".

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